ISU Bengal

Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: News

Inside the new Rendezvous Center.

I was immediately excited to live in the newly constructed Rendezvous Complex as I took a tour of the immense building. Aside from the incomplete elements of the Complex - such as the lack of hot water, air conditioning, dining areas, and desk chairs - I couldn't see how anyone wouldn't want to live in this new addition to the ISU campus.
"Any building this large and new is going to be pushing deadlines, but the whole year won't be like this," said A.J. Jaswanthkumar, a junior and Resident Assistant at ISU, commenting on the ongoing repairs. "We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful building with more amenities than the other residence halls."
A different energy and excitement for the school year and on-campus living was apparent in students moving into the Complex, which was missing during the 2006-2007 school year.
I felt like I was looking down into an airport or shopping mall when leaning over the fifth floor railing, but that is another appealing aspect of the building. The feeling of apartment living when I opened the door to my suite, which is a change from the normal dorm room experience, also impressed me. Although hauling all of my possessions up five floors seemed like a pain, my efforts were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the campus through the floor to ceiling windows in my new living room.
Freshman Missy Brunett, among other students spoken to, enjoys the new amenities made available by living in the Complex, such as not having to pay to do laundry and having a full size fridge. Also, having classrooms in the same building gives her the opportunity to "wake up ten minutes before class and still make it."
The Rendezvous classrooms also had Jaswanthkumar stating, "I wish I was a freshman again so I could go to class in my pajamas."
The idea of being able to run the entire course of your college career in the same building sounds a little unsettling, making the building seem almost like a prison. The difference, however, between the negative consolidated aspect of prison and the Rendezvous Complex is that the concentration of classrooms, dining areas, a computer lab, and suites guarantees that you can see your fellow classmates and friends more often than you normally would be able to, which can be a good thing in college. For example, when I lived in Dyer Hall I was only familiar with the residents in my specific building and making new friends was much more difficult without a central meeting place such as the Rendezvous Complex. In contrast, in the first week of Rendezvous living I have met twice as many people as I did in my previous year at ISU, and the level of shyness and nervousness I used to notice among students seems greatly reduced.

Continued...

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