CSULB new buidings go green

According to CSULB's sustainability website the three new buildings that are under construction are considered to be green. The Recreation Center, the Hall of Science and Nursing building all are equipped to meet the LEED sustainability standards.

The new Hall of Science building will be built using Green building LEED equivalent guidelines.

The new Student Wellness and Recreation Center will be registered as a Green building through LEED and will achieve at least a LEED silver rating.

The new addition to the Nursing building will be built using LEED Green building equivalent guideline.

The Hall of Science Building

The new Hall of Science building will be expected to open next fall 2011 as opposed to fall 2010. The new Hall of Science will have 22 research labs, as well as 31 offices for professors. Along with the new labs and offices the Hall of Science will also have a rooftop greenhouse and observatory according to the Daily 49er.

According to the CSULB's Hall of Science website the constructors have been keeping up with all the construction and have been working at a fast pace and perhaps the Hall of Science will be open sooner than the expected date of completion. According to Mark Zakhour, Senior Construction Manager, "the building might be ready for early 2011".

Zakhour also estates that the next phase of the site development will begin in the next month, including the development of the loading dock area near East Campus Drive, and the plaza reconstruction at MLSC."

"We will continue the interior build out of the project, finishing the exterior facade and finalizing all the major equipment connections and tests in the next few months. We expect to have our casework arrival begin the end of May which will lead us into the finish phase of the project."

Construction on the Rec Center for the month of April

Accroding to the Recreation and Wellness Center website some of the construction that was done for the month of April was:

Landscaping for the plaza began this month with the installation of Date Palm Trees in the pool deck area.

Tiling continues in the locker rooms and bathrooms.

Installation of lights and fans continue on the 2nd floor.

Framing finished for the cardio theatre wall.

Racquetball flooring to be delivered this month and installed accordingly.

Glass doors arriving mid April to be installed.

To view a video of the construction updates click here

Job Openings at the Rec Center

The Recreation Center will be offering up to 200 job openings for the next fall. According to Ashley Cappel, the membership services and marketing coordinator, they have already received hundreds of applications for front desk and customer service positions.

"Although these positions might already be taken, there are other numerous positions still avaible to students such as fitness instructors, weight room attendant etc."

Students interested in applying should go to online and fill out an application. Many of the interviews will be held this week.

Once the Student Recreation and Wellness Center opens, it will be operating under the following hours:

Monday: 6am - 12am

Tuesday: 6am - 12am

Wednesday: 6am - 12am

Thursday: 6am - 12am

Friday: 6am - 9pm

Saturday: 10am - 5pm

Sunday: 10am - 10pm

Registration for Recreation Center now available

Students, faculty and alumni can now start to register for the upcoming Recreation and Wellness Center that is expected to open on August 2010. According to Ashley Cappel, the membership services and marketing coordinator, as many as 2,000 to 3,000 students registered on the first three days the registration office opened its doors.

“The consecutive week, was not as good as the first one, many students don’t really know about the recreation center and that’s why many don’t come in and register.”

As of today, an approximate of 4,000 students have already registered. Cappel also mentioned that CSULB is trying to beat Cal State Fullerton’s registration record. On their opening week Cal State Fullerton registered 15,000 students. CSULB is trying to beat that record before the opening of the recreation center.

Cappel, also said that the registration numbers are expected to increase significantly now that they are going to be involved with the SOAR program this coming summer. “Every day the SOAR program gets about 500 students and hopefully all will be registered.”

Alumni can also get a 10 percent discount, for the first year, if they sign up for the Alumni Association membership and if they register from now until June 30th.

USU Re-opening

The bowling alley and the pool tables located on the USU re-opened their doors again on March 22.
After the long remodeling process, that started at the beginning of the semester, the bowling alley and the pool tables are ready to be used again.

The remodeling process took almost three months for the first floor of the USU to be in service again. Students can now utilize all the facilities of the USU.

"I think its great that we have our bowling alleys and the pool tables available to us sooner than we were expecting them," said Ruby Guo a freshman, pre-nursing major student.

According to the Daily 49er, the rest of the first floor of the USU will be expected to open shortly after spring break. The game center will now have video game consoles for $5 an hour.

Recreation Center fee increased by $6

The new fee for the Recreation Center will now be $116 as opposed to $110 according to the Daily $49er. The $6 increase was due to an increase in insurance, gas and electricity. The decision to raise the fee was made in November and it will stay constant for the next three years according to ASI President Chris Chavez.
However, if there is a need to increase the fee, it will be increased every three years with a cap of 3 to 4 percent. The Recreation Center will be operating year-round and students not enrolled in summer or winter sessions will be allowed to use it.
For staff, alumni and others interested in using the center there will be a $10 daily pass available to them in order to use the center.

24 hour library at CSULB

CSULB's library will be open all night during finals week. After last semester's trial session the library will once again open its doors to the students according the Daily 49er. President F. King Alexander announced the decision at Wednesday's Associated Students Inc. meeting. According to Alexander "there were about 200 to 400 students in the library during finals week at 4 a.m." "I think its a great idea that the library will be open all night during finals. Its going to be beneficial to me as well as many other students," said Nancy Gutierrez, an interior design major student.
However, plans to have a 24 hour library a week before finals are still under consideration.

New Nursing Building

Photo courtesy of the Daily 49er
After 45 years of waiting the Nursing Department is finally extending its facilities. The nursing building, which will be situated on what used to be parking lot 2, will be expected to open August 2010 according to the Daily 49er. The nursing building will cost approximately 5.5 million to construct. The nursing buiding will only be a one-story building. Due to the lack of money the department was not able to add another room to the building because they were 2 million short. The new building will finally give nursing students the space they deserve as well as the new facilities.

Recreation Center

CSULB's new recreation center will be expected to be open next August, 2010. The recreation center will have an indoor track, a pool, treadmills and many other kinds of exercise equipment for students to use, according to the Daily 49er. The expected costs of the recreation center is of approximately $62 million. The creation of the recreation center is mostly founded by students.
Janine Zuniga, a journalism major student, is excited about the new recreation center and is planing to use it next fall. "I'm really excited about the center, I can't wait until the center opens its doors to the students and use the equipment, of course if it is for free." Zuniga said.
Faculty and staff are concerned about CSULB implementing a fee on the use of the recreation center. However, the proposal will be decided by USU board of trustees next fall semester.