DePaulia (DePaul University, Chicago, IL), 2002-01-11, 1

              Friday, January 11,2002 Student Center finally opens its doors DDePaul ePaul's brand new, $25 million Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., opened to the community this week and has already begun the community building process the university has hoped for. "This place is really nice," said Jackie Domanus, sophomore undeclared major, as she sat studying in the central area of the first floor seating area. "The new center makes DePaul seem like a more traditional university." According to Rick Thomas, the director of the Center, that is exactly what DePaul was trying to do. "We're excited to see a lot more people just hanging around," said Rick Thomas, director of the Center. "A student union is, at the core, a place for the university community to gather." "I don't like doing my homework in my apartment," explained Domanus. "And there is a lot more space here [in the new Student Center] to do it." Space is something the new Center is certainly not lacking. With a wide open first floor that holds a cyber cafe, spirit shop, admissions office, a large multipurpose room and plenty of areas to sit, students have many options while in the Center. "I've seen a lot of people just walking around lost because it is so much bigger than Stuart," said Danny Hanichak, sophomore sociology major and an assistant at the Center's information desk. "Everyone seems pretty pleased. I think it makes DePaul feel like a real college campus," continued ThAllpPfliilia 1 lie Uci 11111(1 DePiU'1 Student Center Grand Opening Whole new game Lining up for the perfect shot, sophomore network technologies major Brian Wiggins takes advantage of the new recreation area in the recently opened Student Center. By Joshua Wilson Chief Reporter Tries See Center, page 4 University, Chicago Vol. LXXX. No. 9 isci uutiu yrtuiu uy uicriuuri u. ixyuri New 'caf greeted with students' cheers, jeers he days of meeting in the "caf' are seemingly over for those students who have fond memoof the soon to be demolished Stuart Center. As students had their first look at the cafeteria in the new Student Center this week, not everyone was happy with the changes that greeted them. "In a lot of ways I'm disappointed," said Julie Mackowiak, freshman art major. The setup of the new cafeteria left Mackowiak and many other students looking for road maps to help them find the food they were looking for in DePaul's brand new $25 million Center. With amain dining area that seats approximately 300 to 320 people and several other smaller areas to sit and eat, there seems to be much confusion among students. "I think they need to do some serious reorganization," said Kenneth Labok, junior communication major. "With the other cafeteria [in Stuart] you could just walk in and see people, now it's all sectioned off," said Mackowiak. "The new cafeteria is very pretty, but I liked Stuart better because I knew what was there. The service is slower here and it just seems like it is not working the way it should." These concerns are warranted, according to Rick Thomas, director of Student Centers. "It is important to remember that this is not only new to the students, but to those operating the new cafeteria as well. It will take some time to pull everything together." See Cafeteria, page 4 By Susan Meza Managing Editor By La'Juanda Knight Assistant Editor As students returned to campus this week, they might have realized that something was missing on the Lincoln Park Campus—Stuart Center. Bob Janis, vice president of DePaul's Facility Operations said the tearing down of the building will begin on Jan. 14, 2002. Janis states that the building will not be torn down until the Huw.thedepdulia. com Cruise Control USOs get facelift The most popular actor on the planet talks 'Vanilla Sky' with the DePaulia Magazine, page 14 Enhanced leadership experiences cited as reason for organizational restructuring Current structures and operations of university-sponsored organizations will change after this year's reexamination process of the relationship between student organizations and the university as part of a plan to enhance the leadership experience. "We will spend winter and spring quarters looking at all of the possibilities and develop a plan for implementation to see how this will provide a much richer leadership experience for our organizations," said Suzanne Kilgannon, director of Student Life. Earlier meetings between leaders of university sponsored organizations, university administration and Student Life began in the spring quarter of the 20002001 academic year and indicated a need to restructure organizations."We are looking at what it is about a special organizational status like "university sponsored organizations" to identify what it really is that distinguishes those groups from other clubs," Kilgannon said. "Through our examination we identified that certain groups on campus reflect the institution's mission." It will be at least a year before university administration implements the restructuring of organizations and revise the staff and financial support offered to student organizations. "I think we are well ahead of many of our fellow institutions within this context," said Timothy Spraggins of Student Affairs. "Some of my colleagues in Student Affairs in universities across the country are not even discussing this. As we are in the midst of transition we will look at how the university is in the 21st century and this is an excellent step that we are taking." Student Affairs, Student Life and DePaul officials have identified significant characteristics of the organizations that would be reexamined. Future meetings will also identify the potential changes after practical application occurs. Officials will also determine what obligation would organizations have to the university. "I am pleased to see how the students worked with this and that gives a statement about this institution," said Spraggins. "These conversations could have gone very different and would have been different at other institutions." Among the significant characteristics of sponsored organizations identified by university officials are those organizations who help to create a sense of community concerning the stu- See USO's, page 3 DePaulia photo by Brendan Ryan The exterior of Stuart Center, 2311 N. Clifton Ave., is in the early stages of its demolition, which will start on Jan. 14. Stuart gets date with wrecking ball building is completely rid of asbestos, a process which is required by law. A "relatively complicated task," Janis says that this process will take tvvo to three weeks. He says that the long length is required because it is difficult to reach all of the crevices and small spaces. "It is the type of task that requires a very thorough methodical approach," said Janis. Immediately following clear- See Stuart page 2