DSCSA looking to improve student center
Mark Green
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: DSC News
Members of student government and other academic officials are advocating renovations to make the student center more appealing to students and to bring Dixie State College closer to becoming a university.
Student Body President Dewey Denning, a senior communication major from Iona, Idaho, said he and other members of student government have been throwing around the idea of an improved student center since he was elected, but they are just now beginning the initial planning stages of the project.
Denning said the student center currently feels more like a convention center than a place for students.
"Students don't really want to come hang out here," he said.
He said compared to the student centers at other Utah colleges, the Gardner Center falls short.
"We want to have a four-year campus culture here," Denning said. "So if, for example, when prospective students come to visit the campus they see an awesome student center, and the campus has more of a university feel to it, they will be more likely to come to DSC."
Denning said the new student center would ideally connect to the Old Gym and the soon-to-be-built Centennial Commons Building.
Denning said he has been researching the link between student involvement on campuses and student retention for his senior capstone project. There is direct link between student involvement on campus and retention, he said.
The renovations are still in the planning stage, so there have not been concrete decisions about the details of the renovations. Ideas include a bowling alley, a theater, a larger auditorium, a more comfortable and spacious student lounge, and other ideas designed to create an atmosphere that will keep students on campus.
Cassidy Greenwood, a freshman general education major from Layton, said she thinks a movie theater and a better student lounge are both good Ideas.
"I like it [an improved student center]," she said. "I think it would get more people involved in school activities," she said.
Student Body President Dewey Denning, a senior communication major from Iona, Idaho, said he and other members of student government have been throwing around the idea of an improved student center since he was elected, but they are just now beginning the initial planning stages of the project.
Denning said the student center currently feels more like a convention center than a place for students.
"Students don't really want to come hang out here," he said.
He said compared to the student centers at other Utah colleges, the Gardner Center falls short.
"We want to have a four-year campus culture here," Denning said. "So if, for example, when prospective students come to visit the campus they see an awesome student center, and the campus has more of a university feel to it, they will be more likely to come to DSC."
Denning said the new student center would ideally connect to the Old Gym and the soon-to-be-built Centennial Commons Building.
Denning said he has been researching the link between student involvement on campuses and student retention for his senior capstone project. There is direct link between student involvement on campus and retention, he said.
The renovations are still in the planning stage, so there have not been concrete decisions about the details of the renovations. Ideas include a bowling alley, a theater, a larger auditorium, a more comfortable and spacious student lounge, and other ideas designed to create an atmosphere that will keep students on campus.
Cassidy Greenwood, a freshman general education major from Layton, said she thinks a movie theater and a better student lounge are both good Ideas.
"I like it [an improved student center]," she said. "I think it would get more people involved in school activities," she said.
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