These freshmen don’t know how good they’ve got it…UD has unveiled some pretty amazing renovations and brand new buildings this fall. While I’m so jealous that the Class of 2017 gets four whole years to enjoy them, I do appreciate that I get one. We can all agree that the renovations are stunning improvements, but here’s my review.
Little Bob (The Carpenter Sports Building) – The gym expansion was probably the most hotly anticipated among the changes to the UD campus. I started going to the gym at the end of junior year (it’s never too late to start), and looking back on it the amount of cardio equipment available then was incredibly inadequate for a school of 16,000 undergrads. The new gym is gorgeous, with a ton of fancy new machines that I have no idea how to use and will probably never know how to use. Nevertheless, I highly endorse the elliptical machines with built-in TVs! My only complaint is that there are not enough lockers.
ISE Lab (Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Lab) – As a Political Science major, I probably can’t fully appreciate this entirely new “194,000-square-foot facility [which] brings together students and faculty from various disciplines to teach, learn and conduct research in a collaborative environment,” as the UD ISE Lab website states it. I’ve heard that the lab classrooms are pretty amazing, though. Much of the first floor is a huge open study space with couches, tables, and of course Einstein Bagels; I think this area is perfect for studying and especially meetings.
Alison Hall – It seemed like this academic building was under renovation for years. It still looks like a high school inside, but a much nicer high school! However, I am not at all a fan of the new furniture in the classrooms. The desk-chair combos on four wheels are very unstable, and it always feels like you’re going to accidentally knock into a neighbor when you sit down.
Redding Hall – I recently visited this brand new freshman dorm, which mostly houses Honors freshmen, and it was all I thought it would be and more. This is probably the renovation I am most jealous about, because I lived in the Honors freshman dorm last year as a Russell Fellow – meaning I just missed out on a huge room in Redding by one year! Russell was already pretty nice, but from the countless spacious lounges to huge hallways to a kitchen with an island, it’s safe to say Honors definitely got a dorm upgrade with Redding. Enjoy it while you can, freshmen!
The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building
What’s your favorite UD renovation?
~Ruby Harrington
