By Louisa Burden
Raver Staff

As students on this campus well know, there have been dorm renovations going on for some time now. Connolly Hall has been undergoing massive changes, and Palmerton is set to start its transformation in mid-January.

Due to space limitations, most juniors and seniors are required to live off campus, so that there is enough space for all the underclassmen to live on campus, since they are required to do so under the BOR policy. As Maureen Wilson, the Residence Life Director here at Mines, said, ““As the freshmen and sophomore [numbers] are growing, we have had to shift to accommodate their needs because they are required to be here.”

Connolly Hall is set to be finished by January so that students can move in by the time second semester starts. Some students may be wondering how all of Palmerton Hall is going to fit into the newly renovated Connolly. While it may be a tight fit, most (if not all) students currently living in Palmerton should be able to get into Connolly.

There may be a few people who will be transferred to the NAU dorms, but the housing department will be working to keep this number to a minimum. Improvements being made to Connolly include all new plumbing, lighting, flooring, doors, and furniture.

Also, there will be air conditioning added and individual room temperature control. There will be community space and kitchens on every floor as well. Rather than shared showers, there will be individual shower stalls in all of the bathrooms.

There will also be a new fire suppression system, including fire sensors and sprinklers. Eventually, there will also be an elevator so that the building is ADA accessible. The laundry room will be enlarged as well. Rooms will now also have occupancy sensors in them- if no one is in the room, the lights will automatically shut off after a certain period of time, saving energy and making our campus more environmentally friendly.

Palmerton Hall will be undergoing many similar changes (new lighting, flooring, etc.). Once it is reopened, it is expected to again be mainly a male dorm, with the second floor being the only female floor. Many of the current (and former) female residents have been wondering about what’s going to happen to the painted bricks that adorn the walls.

For those who haven’t heard about this tradition, residents of second floor Palmerton get to paint a brick on the walls of the dorm for every semester that they live there, making it a cool way to simultaneously “make your mark” on the school and do something artistic. As Jessie Ketchum, a sophomore geology major, said, “It’s nice that we get to do something creative.” It is still unclear whether or not the bricks will stay or be painted over, but hopefully the contractors can be convinced to work around them.

In addition to making life more comfortable for residents, the renovations will also make our school more eco-friendly.

As mentioned before, there will be occupancy sensors in the renovated rooms. This is not the only change, however.

There will be a hot water system that utilizes solar power, and the parking lot lighting will be redone so that it stays lit up but doesn’t consume massive amounts of energy. Bicycle parking space will also be increased to encourage people to use this “greener” form of transportation.

Other miscellaneous changes will be occurring as well, including differences in the staffing of the halls, a common area between the two halls, and prices for staying in the dorms. For the staffing, there will be one hall director instead of two.

Also, there is a common area that is being built that will connect Palmerton and Connolly. It’s going in where the old courtyard between the two halls used to be. This common area will probably be completely finished when Palmerton gets done (hopefully around May), but there may be partial access before then.

Finally, there will be changes to prices for staying in the dorms. For now, the cost will stay the same for the students moving from Palmerton into Connolly (they won’t have to pay more, even though they will be using all the new amenities, including air conditioning). However, in the future, students should expect a slight increase in fees. The official rates will be decided in March.

While students may have to wait a while to see the end result of the renovations, everyone is excited about the new changes coming to our campus, and will eagerly anticipate the openings of the refurbished halls.