October 2,1996
Campus News
3
Cate/Park Center set to
open this week, Taylor says
By Arinn Dixon
After Qine months of walching the Cate Student Center gradually change from tlie old. 1970’s
edition into the campus’s newest addition, the Cate/Park Center, Meredith students, staff and
administration will this week fioally get a chance to try out all the new building has to offer.
Today they arc waiting on a final certificate from the City of Raleigh autlwrizing occupancy.
The UTistees gave approval for tliebuilding last fall and construction beganin January, 1996. The
center wa.s)icheduled to be finished by the timestudents arrived for the 1996-199? year, about August
19. However, delays and setbacks have kepi the first and second floors of the Cate Center out of
commission until this week.
The first delay hit the construction right off the bat. “We got a late start,” said Meredith’s
Executive Vice President Chuck Taylor. “The ground was so wet in December and January that we
couldn’t get the building out of the ground.” Workers had to wail until well into January when the
ground dried out. The second delay hit the hardest When renovating the first fioor of Cate, workers
found in the walls asbestos, which can cause cancer if enough is breathed into the body. The asbestos
had been sprayed on the ceiling to prevent fire when the building was originally built in the 1970’s.
All construction stopped while trained asbestos abatement worker); removed tlic substance, setting
construction back a few weeks.
Taylor was not disappointed with the delays, however. “We had tight schedule to begin with,”
Taylor said. “Taking the setbacks into account, 1 think we did fine tiiucwise.”
The first floor of the Cate Center will have a new elevator, an ATM machine and lounge chairs
for studying. The second floor will house the Students Activities offices, commuter lounges and
publication offices. It will also have a game roomwiih apinball machine, apooltableand air hockey,
as well as a computer lab consisting of six to eight computers.
The final addition is the Beehive snack bar, whicli will not open with the restof tlie facility due
to permitting delays. Taylor said the Raleigh permit office lost Meredith’s first request for approval.
The permit was resubmitted, but Hurricane Fran liit and tlw office got backed up. The Beehive will
open about a month after they get tlie permit, which will be any day, according to Taylor.
Once finished, the sn;ick bar offer gourmet coffee, ice crcam, pizza and a Chick-Fil-A. The
Chick-Fil-A will be a franchi.se of the onginal restaurant and will be managed by Sharon Stingley
of Belk Dining Hall. Each resident student automatically has $25 “Chick-Fil-A dollars” on her
Camcard U) be used in the snack bar.
The additions and renovations surrounding tlic Caie/ Park Center cost Meredith College about
$1.8 million, mo.st of which has already been received in gifts and pledges. The Park Foundation,
established by the Roy Park family, gave $600,000 to the project, Park’s wife, Dorothy, was a
Meredith alum.
The plans for tlie new student center were provided by the students for the students. Meredith
hired a research company a few years ago to talk to the Meredith community and find out what they
wanted. Many of iIk new additions, including the skylight and game room, are direct results of
student suggestions. In addition, the adminisu^lion allowed Meredith’s interior de.sign students to
experiment with someof the design for the new building. They came up with the checkerboard floor
around theelevaior and color schemes in the fioorand chairs. “This is tlie moststudent involved thing
in terms of construction I've ever been apart of.”
Taylor also commented on ihc patience of students and staff during tlie building and delays.
“Everyone has been very understanding,” he said. “We are so glad to finally get people in there.”
The newest part of tlie Cate/Park Center will accompany the new maih'oom, bookstore and
administrative offices already occupying the new facility.
GUESS WHAT?
IF YOU’RE A STUDENT AT MEREDITH YOU’RE A MEMBER OF
MRA! JOJNUSASWEPtANFOR mHUSWN’
LIL’FRIENDS ,^tRAMUBALS “UCH MUCH More
MEETING TIMES AND DATES ARE IN YOUR STUDENT
ACTIVrriES CALENDARI WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING
YOU THERE!
QUESTIONS? CALL KELLY X7983
Registration passes 40% in dorms
By Clyde Frazier, History/Politics Depannient
The first phase of “96 in 96,” Meredith’s
voter registratioD campaign, is off to a good
start on campus but so far commuters have
been harder to reach. Registration has been
confirmed for 41 % of dormitory students, but
only l8%ofnon-resident students taking more
tlian six hours. These totals don’t include
many students who are actually regi.stered
because they haven ’ t completed the question
naire. Only those who have conformed their
registration with “96 in 96” are counted.
Those who haven’t yet registered or had
their registration confirmed at this point will
be contacted individually. Volunteers will
begin contacting dorm students in person and
commuters by telephone later this week,
Rebecca Canuth and Renee Moon are coordi-
uating the campaign for the donns. A volunteer
on each hall will contact those who are not yet
accounted for. Most of the volunteers are Resi
dence Hall Board members. The phone bank for
off-campus students will be done primarily by
Dr. Frazier's American Politics and Dr. Truc-
Weber's Elections clas.ses with help from SGA
volunteers. Because tlie data processing isn’t
perfect, some students who did fill out a ques
tionnaire might be contacted again. Please be
patient if this happens to you. Ii will just lake a
minute to confirm your status with the person
who contacts you.
Because this (Aase of the "96 in 96” voter
SGA Corner
Hall Council Training
When: Monday, September 30 at 8;30p.m.
Where: 108 Harris
Food, Music and Fun - Picnic sponsored by WINGS and Residence
Life for all Meredith students.
When: Tuesday, Octobcr 1 from 4:15-6;15p. m.
Where: Courtyard
Are you having problems finding students’ phone numbers? Cam
pus directories will be sold in the Cate Center and Dining Hall from
October 1-8. They will come with the names, number, and ad
dresses of students on campus and their homes.
Volleyball Challenge sponsored by the SGA.
When: Wednesday, October 9 from 4:30-6:30p.m.
Where: Courtyard
Any questions, please call Dee Dee Porter
Elections Board Picnic
When; Thursday, October 10 from 4:30-6:30p.m.
Political parties will be there to discuss their forums.
96
MEREDITH
registration campaign depends on individual
contacts, there won’t be a lot of general public
ity. But since the deadlines are approaching, it
is still important for those who need to register
or to request an absentee ballot to do so. North
Carolina registration formsmust be postmarked
by Octobcr 11; all forms left in campus boxes by
the l(«h will be mailetl by that date. Absentee
ballot requests can be left in the boxes through
October 18. Students who need to register and/
or request absentee ballots for Virginia. Florida
and South Carolina can pick up forms in Joyner
122.