The facilities and programming at the Collis Center are being reinvented this term as the building will gain two late-night dining facilities and remain open until 3 a.m. seven nights a week.
Most of the changes will take effect Sept. 29. Collis currently serves no food on weekends and closes at 1 a.m. This summer the building was locked on Sundays.
College President James Wright said the changes stem from student requests for more opportunities for nighttime activities.
A new coffee house and snack concession downstairs will both be open until 2:30 a.m., and most facilities in the basement are being renovated.
"I got a group together actually before I was president and asked them to sit down and think what we could do to provide more opportunities for students in Collis and elsewhere," Wright said.
In addition to renovations in Common Ground and the Atrium area, a small movie theater for student groups should open by the end of Fall term.
This initial need for change, according to Director of the Collis Center and Student Activities Mark Hoffman, began with the demands from students.
Hoffman said that the Task Force on Undergraduate Student Life, along with Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia and former Dean of the College Lee Pelton, discussed how to improve campus social life for students. "Their individual analysis -- or report -- along with talks with student groups lead to one final report."
Hoffman said that he, along with the members of the Collis and Student Activity Office, Sateia and Student Life Business Manager Brenda Goupee worked together to develop a proposal.
Then they presented the proposal to Wright's staff. Once it was approved, the reconstruction of Collis began.
For the Midnite Express, the downstairs food area, Hoffman said "the doors of the Collis kitchen will be turned into a Dutch door so students can pick up their food there."
The coffee shop will be in the Collis Cafe area.
"Once Collis Cafe closes at 8:30 p.m., the staff for 'The Big Green Bean' will literally transform the place into a coffee shop," Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the coffee shop will serve "cold and hot beverages, pastries, home made baked goods and ice cream." Hoffman added there will also be guest artists, as well as students, who can read poetry or play light music.
Hoffman said one of the coffee shop's main goals is to promote the conservation of the Earth. Real mugs and plates will replace paper cups and plates.
Hoffman said students felt the Billiard room was "sterile and uninviting." To change this, Hoffman said, "the room will be darkened, and students will be asked to bring post cards from the different places they have traveled to give it a cozy feeling."
Hoffman said board games will be set up on one side of the pool hall along with a stereo which can hold 50 CDs. "There will be nice speakers set up around the room. Students can use the remote control to change the CDs," Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the fireplaces will all be converted to gas power and will be used more often. He said student managers and full time staff will be responsible for the fire places as well as running the building.
The final project for the current renovations is the movie theater, which will be in the current arcade room. The games will be moved to Room 014.
"The movie theater will have 40 professional seats," Hoffman said. The outer entrance of the movie theater will have a popcorn machine, and bottles of soda will be available for students.
Hoffman said the movie theater is for "Dartmouth use only. It is free, and it will be a place for student organizations to use for the most part."
Hoffman said the movie theater will be "big and comfortable to accommodate many, but small for an intimate feel."
Hoffman said that the hardest part right now is trying to figure out the type of lighting and equipment needed for the theater. "We must figure out what type of seats we want, and how all of this will fit in this particular space."
