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CAMPUS

The Norwich Guidon
Jan. 29, 2004

Alumni Hall renovation slated for 2006 completion

Alumni Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the Norwich campus, is set to begin renovations soon with a completion date of 2006. (Plourde photo)

Eric Beauregard
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Built in 1905, Alumni Hall had only minor renovations in the 1980s, but age doesn't matter when the new plans are complete. By the fall of 2006, the building will have a completely restored appearance, according to university officials.

Alumni Hall, desperately in need of a modern makeover, is the oldest student housing building on campus and the last such building to be renovated. All of the other barracks have seen renovations in the past few years.

“I feel great about the Alumni Hall renovation, because it is going to [create] a whole new feeling inside and out,” said Toussaint Freeman, 19, a sophomore criminal justice major from Washington, D.C. “Renovating the building will inevitably give the place a brand new look.”

Katherine Calkin, 19, said, “I think it is a great thing that Alumni is being renovated, because it is the oldest building that hasn't been renovated, yet.”

Some of the issues that Calkin is concerned about are the dust and that fact that there are no sprinkler systems, and the fire alarms “don’t always work properly.”

Maj. Helen Bryan, housing officer for Norwich University, said, “Alumni Hall is going to be renovated starting this semester, because in order to have this project complete in time for the incoming class, it needs to start soon.”

Bryan said that the purpose of renovating Alumni is not to make more beds available.

Calkin likes the idea of having Alumni Hall restored to its original aesthetics, to bring back some “tradition to the campus.”

“I really don’t think that the school should have invested money into Alumni Hall; I like it the way it was,” said Christopher Petrillo, 19, a sophomore majoring in Business and Management from Oceanport, N.J. “Having lived in it last year, I thought it was a great building; it has a lot of history behind it, and, sure, the floor is a little wavy, but it gives the building character.”

Petrillo said that while he has been in Alumni Hall there have been NU graduates who would come into the building and say it was “same way it was,” 30 to 40 years ago.

“A lot of people been having problems with their heat and dust in the building, but my room was good for the most part. Dust is in every building,” Petrillo said.

“President Schneider seemed to think it is going to be restored to its significant state and attention that it deserves; the only way I see that happening is to bring it back to its original form with big rooms, large squad bays, and tons of windows,” Petrillo said.

Currently, the building stands changed from its original plan, retaining only those things that make it hard to live with, including old electrical wiring, poor restroom facilities and terrible insulation.

“There is still a risk of hazard; since the place is filled with hay, it would be very easy for the place to rise in flames. For instance, if a gas pipe had a leak or [there was] carelessness with a lighter,” Freeman said, adding that Alumni Hall at points was modernized, “but not enough.”

Freeman said that since the building is going to be prioritized mainly to freshmen, there was only one floor that seemed to have six shower heads, and all of the other floors seemed to have “a personalized restroom. There really wasn't a lot of hot water [the] majority of the time to shower [the number] of people in the building,” Freeman said.

Brandon Bragdon, 21, a sophomore criminal justice major from North Berwick, Maine, said, “I lived on the bottom deck of Alumni Hall, and my perspective of the maintenance in the building was good from what I saw, because my company and I had such a plain floor.”

Bragdon said that he supports “all for the renovations,” as long as the plans are to keep the historical value of the building.

“The only thing that had me concerned last year was the age of the electrical wiring and lack of heat, but overall, it was not bad at all.”

“During spring break, the back tower of Alumni Hall will be torn down. Prior to that, a temporary tower will be located on the north end between Alumni and Ransom Hall,” Bryan said. “Things that are to happen in Alumni Hall include: new support systems, electrical heating systems and fire sprinkler systems. And all of the closets in Alumni will be torn out so the capacity of the room will stay the same, but there will be a wardrobe.”

According to Bryan, Alumni Hall may become a dorm to “house the Regimental Commander or the Provisional Battalion Commander.

“Alumni Hall is actually going to be restored on the outside to the way it used to look when it was first built. The windows that [had] been bricked in will all be brought out again,” Bryan said.

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.