Article Written by Paige Stewart
Roanoke College students returned to campus this August to find many improvements to their residence halls, from new furniture and windows to brick paths, rather than sidewalks, leading to some buildings. These updates were coordinated by Roanoke’s Residence Life & Housing. Jimmy Whited, director of Residence Life, said the improvements were overdue. Also, renovations are more cost-efficient when done at the same time, he said. For this reason, Residence Life decided to address issues at many of the residence halls over the summer.
The Afton apartments were completely redone. The roofing and windows were replaced, and the sidewalk was removed and replaced with brick paths. All of the interior furniture, including dining rooms tables and bedroom study desks, is new.
The second and third floors of Crawford Hall were updated, complete with new painting and flooring in the dorm rooms and hallways. The kitchens were redone, and all of the toilets and sinks were replaced in the bathrooms.
In the fraternity houses, the bathroom stalls and doors were replaced and the bedrooms were painted. The carpets in Elizabeth Hall, located on Elizabeth campus, were also cleaned.
In Fox Hall, Yonce, and Wells, the couches in the common areas were replaced with new wraparound sofas that pull apart for individual seating. Residence Life selected durable furniture that would be less expensive to repair than it had been in the past, Whited said. These rooms also received fresh coats of paint and decorations, such as paintings and artificial potted plants.
New couches also were added to the common rooms in Blue Ridge Hall. Whited and his staff met with the business office to obtain the funds for these renovation projects. “Just like a presentation for school, I explained, ‘Here’s what we need to do, and here’s why’ and they were fantastic about helping us,” he said.
