In the cartoon world, this place would be the ACME storage facility. It is an area with lots of table space, white walls, bleak and harsh lighting, industrial flooring, and some old equipment that nobody would ever dare stick their hands near. At an institute such as RPI, one might expect to find such places scattered here and there across campus, but I am speaking of a location that should never exude the type of environment I just described. This facility is one of the dominant features of the lower level of the Union. It is the place we expect students to go to unwind, socialize with friends, and have fun. It is, of course, the Union Games Room.
On November 18 of last year, the Games Room began operating under the free Games Room policy on a trial basis. This policy was created by the Union Advancement Committee and adopted by the Executive Board as part of a year-long review process to determine the causes of declining revenue and student interest in the Games Room. The assumption was that the student body no longer had the desire to pay for the programs in the area. The free Games Room program was a hit and immediately restored student interest in the facility. This may have explained some of the higher participation rates we saw during December; that excuse, however, did not satisfy the committee. We once again faced declining participation as this semester progressed, even after we extended the free policy indefinitely. Following continued exploration of the problems, we decided something larger was amiss.
After conducting a survey of select groups of students and observing people as they played games, it became fairly clear that the environment of the Games Room compels people to not return. A product of earlier times, and not a large priority during the Union renovation in 2000, the Games Room décor and setting is in desperate need of an improvement. In the last year, we have seen the final planning, construction, and success of a new vision for the Rathskellar. With the completion of the Rathskellar project, we are now prepared to tackle the Games Room; I would like to present to you the vision we have developed thus far.
Billiards is by far the most popular activity in the facility, and with that in mind, the new vision of the Games Room reflects the feeling of a pool hall. The walls will feature deeper colors, perhaps even murals, and the hospital lighting will be removed to be replaced with new lamps over the tables. Table tennis has risen back to popularity with a vengeance, so you can expect two new tables to appear. Top that off with a new sound system, new cues, refinished tables, and a jukebox and you now have an image which only begins to describe our plans. This new vision requires sacrifice, however, and the victim is clear—the bowling lanes must go.
Once eight lanes strong, the bowling alley in the Games Room has been a staple of the Union for generations of students. Yet even with a free bowling and shoe rental program, the alley now sees only an average of 40 games per week. These games are bowled mostly by 10 to 15 regular bowlers. This is unquestionably a poor use of space in a building that has the highest rate of student use on campus. Maintenance costs to keep all four lanes operating far exceed the revenue that they generate. Upgrading the bowling lanes to modern standards would cost over $50,000, a sum that could never justifiably be recovered. In contrast with the meager estimate of $6,000 to eliminate the lanes and open up a large amount of space, the removal of the lanes makes sense on a financial, logical, and conceptual level. Though the scope of this rennovation represents big steps for the Union, I assure you that our new vision for the Games Room will present far better programs and opportunities to you and future students.
As always, I welcome all comments, questions, and concerns, addressed to pu@rpi.edu.
