The bowling alley, located in the ground floorofLankfordStudent Union, will be open again within the next two weeks with a new facelift and a new name, as reported by the Director of the Student Union and Activities, Susan Sullivan.
According to an article printed in The Rotunda on Feb. 20, 2013, the use of the bowling alley dramatically decreased when bowling classes stopped being offered at Longwood University. Reportedly, the alley was used 12-15 times per week when bowling classes were offered.
The new Lankford Lounge will serve as a study lounge with 12 seats and two to three tables. One table will be a U-shaped video table with six chairs and a video screen that can hook up to a computer. The video table will be beneficial for students preparing group presentations. Another table will be long and thin with taller chairs, and a power strip that will allow students to charge their laptops or cell phones. There are thoughts on having one additional table with a printing station where students can use their USB flash drives to print their documents.
There has been discussion on turning the Lankford Lounge into a 24/7 study center; however, Sullivan explained, “It’s not a done deal.”
She added, “We might do a 24- hour, but right now, we want to get it [the Lankford Lounge] up and running.”
Sullivan said that the Lankford Lounge will be open during the same hours as the Lankford Student Union, which is 8:15 a.m. to 12 a.m. from Monday to Friday, and 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. from Saturday to Sunday.
While considering the feasibility of having the Lankford Lounge be open 24 hours a day, Sullivan said, “I think there are other things that we would have to do: put a phone down there, put cameras down there, do we staff it some of that time? So, there are other costs associated with it that we would have to see if this is feasible and if this is something that we want to do.”
Melvin Moore, trades tech I of Capital Planning and Construction, served as the project manager for the renovations of the Lankford Lounge.
Sullivan also stated that the Office of First Year Experience & Family Programs (FYE) and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI) will relocate into the Lankford Lounge.
Currently, the FYE is located in the Lankford Student Union in Room 216, and the ODI is located in Lancaster Hall in Room G28-A.
While Sullivan stated that the renovations and office relocations will be completed within the next few weeks, she noted that the furniture that will be placed within the space will not be moved in until December.
The Lankford Lounge is composed of three spaces: one that leads out to Lankford Mall, one that is a lounge space where ping pong and pool tables were placed while the bowling alley was open and one space that is enclosed by a glass wall where the bowling alley was initially located.
Sullivan ensured that the FYE and ODI will move into the enclosed glass areas. The furniture that is currently in the ODI will be moved into storage, in the space that leads into Lankford Mall.
With the relocation of both offices, Sullivan said, “I think they’re really positive changes.”
Sullivan described the ODI’s relocation as allowing it to “be more centralized” and “more easily accessible” to the student body.
According to Sullivan, all of the bowling equipment, including the bowling lanes, have been sold.
The Office of Materiel Management & Purchasing managed the selling process of the bowling equipment.
Sullivan stated that this process added to the delay on the opening of the Lankford Lounge.
She said, “That process took a little bit longer than we anticipated, and the company that purchased a good amount of the equipment also purchased the lanes, themselves, and it took them a while to remove those lanes.”
As the renovations and office relocations move toward completion within the next few weeks, Sullivan exclaims, “I think we’re excited. I think we’re looking forward to it being open.”
She added, “We are a little bit disappointed that we were not able to open it sooner.”
Sullivan stated that she hopes to host the Lankford Lounge grand opening in January 2014.
