Located in central campus, both the Cooper Dining Hall and Cooper Fitness Center have been renovated during the summer ahead of the fall 2019 semester.
These renovations included a new paint job in the entrance and dining area of the building and a new wooden floor where fitness classes are held. The renovated dining hall featured maintenance such as repainting walls, the removal of the older decorations and work on fitness equipment.
“We haven’t gotten any new decorations yet, so it’s a bit bare on the walls,” said Cooper Dining Hall employee Cindy Canale. “They removed the sand boxes and the beach scenery from the walls, which gave us a bit more space along those areas.”
Director for Resident Dining Ruth Stevens said they will be adding live plants soon and are looking for student produced artwork to add to the walls.
Cooper Dining Hall, connected to both Funnelle and Hart Halls, serves central campus as a dining hall and fitness facility. The Cooper building also houses the Cooper Fitness Center, which provides access to fitness equipment and group exercise classes to students with a paid membership.
As part of the renovation, the Cooper Fitness Center has received new flooring, ceiling, lights, paint and a new front desk. Fitness Center manager Brian Wallace said that the returning staff are particularly excited about the changes.
“The purpose of the change was to brighten up and modernize the space a bit,” Wallace said. “We hope members and prospective members will feel more energized and motivated to use the facility.”
One challenge Wallace has faced was putting the fitness center back together and adapting to the new layout. Although most of the changes are complete, he now has to evaluate the new layout in terms of user efficiency.
“It is one thing to see the layout on paper, and another to see the changes in action,” Wallace said in terms of the modifications. “I expect us to do some tweaking of arrangement and overall operations after a couple of weeks.”
According to Wallace, the new equipment purchased allows them to rearrange and improve the facility floor plan. His hope now, however, is that the members enjoy the upgrade and use the facility more often.
These renovations have sparked mixed reactions among some of the student population. While many do not like the gray paint by the entrance, they do support the ivory and blue blend in the dining hall, although there are those who see the change with enthusiasm.
However, Cooper is not alone when it comes to renovations. Funnelle Hall, also located in central campus, is going to close in December of this year as it is scheduled to be renovated as well. In this sense, students were given the option to stay knowing they would have to move out in January.
Although some of the students who have stayed in the building will be graduating this upcoming December, others have decided to take their chances, hoping not to be moved to West Campus.
According to the Oswego State website, Cooper Hall opened in 1967. The building was named to honor famous American author James Fenimore Cooper, who was stationed near Oswego between 1808 and 1809 while serving with the U.S. Navy. Cooper’s time in Oswego was brief, but according to the Oswego State website, his novels “The Pathfinder” and “The Littlepage Manuscripts” were influenced by the Oswego area. Cooper’s relationship with Oswego, New York, led the college to name Cooper Hall, Pathfinder Dining Hall and Littlepage Dining Hall in honor of the author and his works.
Since it was built, the complex has gone through a total of 15 different renovations. These have ranged from installing a fire suppression system to installing gas fired water heaters, the installation of electric and steam meters or the replacement of the tunnel’s ceiling.
Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian
