The floors are still only wood panels, the brickwork is cracked and most of the walls still consist only of metal framework, but students touring the new Collis Student Center Friday could see the building taking shape.
If construction continues at its current rapid pace, Collis may be open for business at the start of the 1994 Winter term, according to Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia, who is in charge of the Collis remodeling. Sateia took selected students on a tour of the building.
"We're at the point now where we are looking at [Collis] in terms of moving back in," Sateia said. "We're asking how do we need to organize ourselves in order to make the move run smoothly."
But Sateia said Collis is still scheduled to open in March 1994 even though the construction is ahead of schedule.
The Collis student center and College Hall closed in January when renovations began. The College began planning the new Collis center in 1989, Sateia said.
The project will cost approximately $5.5 million, according to Sateia.
Sateia said she expects the new Collis to have a major impact on the College's social scene.
"I think Collis is going to be that place where you can go when you have no idea what you want to do," Sateia said. "It will be an informal space outside your home where you can meet your friends and see what you want to do."
"It is going to be very, very different," she added. "Students will feel like it's their place."
Sateia took students on a tour of the building Friday.
The most noticeable change in Collis is the lobby atrium, which links Collis with the old College Hall.
The atrium has a huge skylight which allows natural light into Collis, making the whole center much brighter. The atrium cuts through all three floors of Collis, so students will be able to see their friends on different levels and call out to them, Sateia said.
"I think the atrium space is the most dramatic aspect of Collis," Sateia said. "It unifies the building and brings in so much light."
Collis Cafe will now be located on the first floor of the building, in the old offices of the Tucker Foundation. Students will enter through the door of the former College Hall.
Unlike the old Collis Cafe, the kitchen will be in the basement and food will be brought up by a dumbwaiter, Sateia said. The serving area will be located in the former office of James Breeden, the dean of the Tucker Foundation.
The menu of the Collis Cafe will not be changed dramatically, Sateia said. The salad bar will be expanded and the cafe will still offer its popular hot entrees and desserts.
The first floor of the student center is being covered with wood paneling to make it look like College Hall once did in the early 1900s, Sateia said.
In addition to the cafe, the first floor will house the refurbished common ground, a huge student lounge and an expanded conference room.
The common ground has been made into a more open space. The stage and balcony have been removed, allowing seating capacity to jump from 380 people to 600.
Sateia said the new size of the common ground allows the Programming Board more flexibility. They can show movies on a wide screen or hold larger dances, she added.
Conference Room B now encompasses its old space plus the offices once allotted to the Office of Student Life.
A student lounge is located where the old Collis Cafe used to be. Cushioned chairs and couches will fill the lounge.
There will also be charge card telephones and computer jacks in the lounge, Sateia said. The computer jacks were installed so students could work on their Powerbook computers in Collis.
The basement will be a sort of "underground Dartmouth," Sateia said.
What used to be the basement of College Hall will contain a pub which will feature live music, Sateia said. The pub will serve alcoholic drinks to students who have bracelets similar to the ones currently used to mark of-age students in the new Greek alcohol system.
The center of the basement will be an open area that branches into a number of different rooms, including a billiards room, arcade game room, and a television room. There will be an automatic teller machine in the basement.
Sateia said she plans to turn one of the storage rooms into a UPS shipping center at the end of every term so students can have a central drop-off point for their boxes.
"We tried to think about the services students use on a daily basis and provide them," Sateia said.
The second floor will house the offices of International Programs and Native American Programs, the Students Activities office and the Office of Student Life.
There will also be two new meeting rooms on the second floor, which will look out at the Green through glass windows.
In addition, some student organizations will be given office space on the second floor. Sateia said she expects three organizations will share one office.
In order to get an office in Collis, organizations will have to apply to the committee in charge of allotting space next fall, Sateia said.
Many of the offices will go to groups that represent all students, such as the Student Assembly, the Graduate Student Council and the Collis Governing Board, Sateia said.
Every student organization will have a mailbox and file cabinet in Collis if they want one, Sateia said.
Career Services was located on the second floor of Collis before the renovations, but will now be located on the third floor, along with the Academic Skills Center.
The Tucker Foundation, Parking Services and Safety and Security will not be returning to College Hall and Collis, Sateia said. They will remain at their current locations.
Another new addition to Collis will be a back door facing Thayer Dining Hall. There will also be an elevator in Collis to provide handicapped access to all of the different levels, Sateia said.
