Oswego State administration is planning a new student activity center that will act as a place where students, clubs and organizations can plan and host various events, including dances, poetry slams, comedy and small musical performances.

The plan was revealed at a town hall meeting with Oswego State President Deborah Stanley on Feb. 10 when student Erica Bentley asked about the former on-campus dance club, Ozone, which was located in the basement of Hewitt Union until 2007.

The planned activity center is the latest iteration of past student hang-out areas on campus following Ozone, Timepieces and The Tavern.

The Tavern operated in Hewitt Union from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. The Tavern is the only bar to ever be on campus. According to the Oswego Alumni Magazine, it was “one of the most popular places to grab a pint, catch a performance or just meet up with friends.”

The Tavern became Timepieces in 1986, which was an alcohol-free pizza place, according to the Alumni Magazine.

The new establishment has been 10 years in the making and stemmed from a noticeable lack of areas where students can hold their own programs. The current project has evolved from one former Oswego State administration members had begun planning stages of when the now-Marano Campus Center was first constructed.

“They began this investigation of where they wanted to put a much larger student life center called the Northern Exposure along the north side of the Marano Campus Center that dealt with student life activities,” said Mitch Fields, the associate vice president of facilities services.

“I think it came in around $15 million in value and it was lined out as a future project both on the campus and at the state university construction fund,” Fields said.

According to Fields, the construction of this project did not come to fruition because the school could not afford it and there was a moratorium by the state that they would not build any new square footage. During this time period of postponement, locations and new ideas were investigated for the project.

Locations that had been previously considered were the food court at the entrance of the Marano Campus Center and the dining area by Crossroads.

However, when the current director of Campus Life, Earnest Washington, arrived at Oswego, it came to the attention of administration members that one of the least utilized areas of the campus are the locker rooms below Swetman Gym in the Marano Campus Center.

“Earnest Washington, director of Campus Life, revived the discussion more recently with a proposal to repurpose the old Swetman gym locker room space for students to host gatherings on campus so that they would not need to find other options in town,” Stanley said.

Fields said the locker room is no longer useful and needs new life.

“What we were finding is that students don’t use locker rooms the way that previous generations did,” Fields said. “To reinvest in them, they would be underutilized and it would be a misdirection of funding. We would have new locker rooms that nobody used so the question came, could we repurpose this area for a multi-purpose student activity space?”

However, construction of this space would not affect Swetman Gym, which would stay the way it is, according to Fields. There will be certain aspects added on to accommodate students.

“We are going to create smaller locker rooms because there are some people who come from off-campus,” Fields said. “We are putting in a passenger elevator because right now, even though the lockers are there, they are not handicap accessible.”

Fields said Swetman is still a highly needed space because of the amount of recreational activities that are confined to the Lee and Swetman Gyms.

The plan for the activity area has been approved by the state and would be removing a liability to be replaced by a functioning, productive unit, according to Fields. Consultants have been approached, and once one is chosen they will verify the program for the space.

The space is projected to be constructed next summer and ready for the fall 2017 semester.

Stanley emphasized that the design is not envisioned to be a night club as the Ozone was, but could be turned into a dance hall if needed.

According to Fields, the space would be for students only and there would be no administrative functions. It has not been discussed what the process would be for reserving the space.

Students should not expect the facility to provide alcohol. State law prohibits alcohol on any state property.

University Police would welcome the addition of this activity area, according to Chief John Rossi.

“It would be an alternative to off-campus weekend activities and a community builder,” Rossi said.

With this student activity space being built below Swetman and the new Waterman Theater soon opening in the renovated Tyler Hall, the question is raised about what that means for Hewitt Union and its ballroom space.

According to Fields, the ballroom will revert back to its original function once the newly constructed Waterman Theater opens, as there is still an essential use for event programming for it.

While these plans are not official yet, according to Fields, there is a desire to rename the space Hewitt Hall, which would be targeted to become the future home for the Communications and Graphic Arts programs. The School of Communications, Media and the Arts would then span Tyler and Hewitt.

In the meantime, students can look forward to the activity area in 2017 and expect a vital element of campus to be accommodated.

“I understand there is a shortage for this kind of space and that they have to rent these places off-campus,” Fields said, “which really puts undue stress on student organizational budgets.”

“Anything we can do along those lines that would help our students have a stronger, fuller experience and community here, we want to do. I think this project will at least provide the opportunity,” Fields said.