Farnham Hall construction completed over the summer

Garrett Decrosta — Special to Southern News
With the fall semester having arrived, another round of incoming freshmen has packed into the residence halls. This year though, some of that group is in for a surprise.
Farnham Hall has been renovated for incoming freshmen and returning sophomores. The building had been under construction since last fall, with the final touches to the inside of the building being done over the summer months.
Minor changes and fixes are still occurring but are mostly aesthetic. New recreation rooms, larger bathrooms, a computer lab and bigger bedrooms are some of the key features of the renovation project.
The front of the building now has multiple benches, a bigger entrance walkway and a new entrance logo.
James Blake, executive vice president of the facility operations at Southern, shed some light on the subject.
“We wanted to upgrade the building envelope, lobbies, recreation room on the lower level, bathrooms and plumbing,” said Blake. “We were obviously limited on our budget, but those were the most important to us and we believe are the most important to the students living there as well.”
Southern is planning to renovate and clean up other residence halls on campus as well.
The budget for the Farnham Hall renovation was $6.8 million and Southern’s goal is to tackle a new residence hall every two years. Along with building the experience of on-campus life for new students, there have also been new additions away from the dorms in recent years, including a new library and Student Center.
With the renovation, Southern wants to show students they are evolving with the times and making sure residents are living in a suitable environment.
Charisse Weir, a sophomore, said she was excited to arrive at her new dorm and see a polished and finished building.
“The bathrooms are new, fresh and clean. I love it. The computer lab is not finished yet but It looks really cool,” said Weir. “It is very spacious here. I love having space and knowing I have more room to put my things.”
The students also have better technology in the security system, front desk organization, guest sign-in systems and alarms within the building. With the other buildings on campus, any person can get in by having a student open the door and asking them, “Hey, can you hold the door for me?” but now that does not pose an issue.
Students now have to open the front door and then let the ResLife staff visually see them before using their ID card to gain access.
Additionally, with the computer lab soon to be completed in the building, students will have a close and easy back-up plan for computer issues: head to the lab.
Upon walking into the building, there is much more than the standard couches and TV. In Farnham, there are tables with four chairs apiece, new couches, a recreation room right across the lobby and a television is also on its way.
Farnham is definitely “out with the old, in with the new,” in fall 2011.