Over the summer, a number of changes were made to campus facilities. As the new school year unfolded, new additions ranging from hall renovations to beehives were revealed.
Most noticeably, residents in Trever Hall and Plantz Hall received new room doors, remodeled bathrooms, renovated desk areas and a kitchenette on every floor.
Plantz’s Residence Hall Director Drew Ryan commented on the positive impact of these upgrades: “Though part of the beauty of Plantz is that the community builds itself, having these new bathrooms and renovations have inspired a new appreciation and love for the building.”
Other residence halls have also been treated to an upgrade; some floors in Kohler Hall received a new paint job, while Sage Hall and Ormsby Hall received improvements, like new glass windows, to their desk areas.
Furthermore, the Wriston Art Center has added a new drawing room with more tables and supplies for its art students.
Junior Allison Bjork, a psychology and studio art major, found that “[having] one room for printmaking, drawing, painting and photography put the art students all on top of each other and made it difficult to concentrate. [Now] all the classes have more freedom, and the new drawing room allows the creative juices to flow better.”
Changes at Lawrence University weren’t restricted to the interior of campus buildings. Last May, the students of the Sustainable Lawrence University Garden successfully brought honeybee hives onto campus.
Over the summer, a record number of SLUG interns — ranging from freshmen to fifth years — cared for these hives. SLUG member and junior Hava Blair divulged that the first harvest in the middle of September produced 110 pounds of honey, or “at least two hundred of the honey bear bottles that can be found in Andrew Commons.”
Blair said, “We are extremely pleased with the results because it will spread word about the garden and open up new opportunities in the future.” Additionally, SLUG also planted four pear trees alongside the sixteen apple trees in the orchard behind Sage Hall.
However, not everyone on campus is pleased with these changes. The results of Plantz’s recent renovations have left sophomore and current Plantz resident Becky Dykes yearning for the bathrooms of the past. “I just don’t like automatic flush toilets. They freak me out.”