Residents of White Creek Apartments have waited for a new facility to open on their side of campus.
The opening of White Creek Community Center, scheduled for near the end of the month, has been on the radar for students and residents of the area. This building, which will be closer to the apartments than other facilities, will house numerous services for students on the west side of campus, including dining, a community learning center, recreational areas, tutoring and a convenience store.
Sara McCoy, coordinator for Academic Support Initiatives, said students who go to the new community center will be able to enjoy a wide range of activities that help promote a diverse college experience.
“I think the students will most appreciate the proximity of all the amenities that will be offered in the White Creek Community Center,” McCoy said. “There will be a brand new Community Learning Center (CLC) with 36 open access computers connected to Aggie Print and a variety of individual and group study spaces. There will be a game room area with things such as pool tables and video game consoles, as well as basketball and volleyball courts outside.”
McCoy said there will also be a large academic support center open for all students.
“Residence Life’s Academic Support Initiatives Office will now be located in the WCCC, providing additional resources and support to students as they navigate their college experiences,” McCoy said. “Finally, there will be several food options available in the dining area that will be a great convenience.”
Although these resources might not seem new to some students living on main campus, McCoy said this will be unlike any other on the west side of campus.
“While some of the features in the WCCC are similar to those offered in some of our other residential facilities, such as The Commons, The Gardens and Hullabaloo,” McCoy said. “It will be the first of its kind on West Campus.”
Aside from a student’s typical day-to-day experience at the White Creek Community Center, McCoy said students will be able to enjoy more distinct opportunities with the university’s faculty.
“In addition to the physical spaces offered within the facility, like the CLC and Game Room, we’ll be bringing additional programming and events to the space for the students,” McCoy said. “We’ll be launching a brand new series called ‘Dessert with a Dean’ that will bring different deans from across campus to join smaller groups of students in a more personal setting for dialogue and, of course, desserts.”
Kumail Sye, business administration freshman, has been living at White Creek Apartments for the past year, and said many of his fellow residents have been anxiously awaiting the community center’s dining options.
“They kept pushing back the opening date of the center, which I guess kind of irritated some people here,” Sye said. “They have to go all the way on campus just to get a decent meal, and I really think that for most of us, we would have much rather had it open sooner than later because it’s going to be an incredibly useful addition to this side of campus.”
Kiara Dietze, forensic and investigative sciences freshman, agreed with Sye about the difficulties in finding dining options close to White Creek Apartments. Dietze said she is happy to have the ability to stay close to home and not have to travel back to main campus as often.
“I’m really excited for it, especially because we don’t have that much around here,” Dietze said. “We basically have to go all the way on campus to go do things like eat. It’s also a lot nicer for us if we ever want to bring someone here and want to have dinner or something like that. It would be nice if we didn’t have to go all the way back on campus rather than just be here.”
Dietze said she is glad incoming freshmen will have an easier time using their meal plans since the community center is so close to the apartments.
“We have kitchens here, which is nice,” Dietze said. “At the same time though, we are also required to have a meal plan because we are still technically living on campus. So you can imagine it’s a lot, and it is kind of difficult to go use those meal plans. Even though I am still on the lowest meal plan, it is still kind of a pain to go all the way on campus if it’s not near my classes.”