Powell HUB:

Proposal for a new student center for The City College of New York

Fig 1: Image of Wingate at CCNY

April 4, 2024

Starving Orphans:

Aasim Syed

Al Narcida

David Wu

Keith Rivadeneira

Yee Shing Chan

Introduction:

Every successful college campus needs a student center – a dedicated space for students to gather, make connections, and immerse themselves in the full experience of college life beyond just attending classes. Despite City College’s academic excellence, our campus is severely lacking a vital student-centered space. Installing our modern student center in the Wingate would provide the central hub our community is missing. By investing in our new student center CCNY can dramatically enhance the college experience for current and future students. There are many reasons why building our student center is so crucial. The first being that it would give students a central gathering place to relax in between classes, make connections with other students, and truly feel like they’re a part of the community. In Binghamton University’s student center, they host events at least once a week. These events can range from “late nights” where every Friday they play a movie for a get-together, to PAWS (Pets Away Worries and Stress) where they bring therapy dogs onto campus for the students to enjoy, more information in the appendix. Another reason is that a student center would show the students that CCNY cares about more than academics – we prioritize the overall student experience. By committing to constructing our student center, CCNY can revolutionize campus life and increase student’s morale and productivity.

Fig 2: Pie chart for location

Action Plan:

1st Floor- DINING HALL

On the first floor when entering Wingate, there is a vast and rectangular-shaped dining hall with buffets that consist of students’ favorite fast foods such as Mcdonald’s, Halal, Starbucks, and Boba. We also have a section that contains Hispanic food that many students have yet to try directly from Benny’s cafeteria. The layout of this dining hall consists of the food section lined up along the left side of the room with dining and seating areas covering the rest of the floor. The food will be placed and provided in metal bins and containers with LED lights above and utensils and plates at the front of the cafeteria. When grabbing your food, there will be kitchen staff that monitor and calculate the costs of the food at the end of the line where the food provided is item-based rather than weight-based where at the end of the buffet line. Eventually, at the end of the line, a pair of staff sitting with computers will evaluate how much the cost of your plate is through computers and have you pay either cash or card. Leaving the left side, there will be rectangular and square shaped tables scattered throughout the floor with several seats to choose from. The size of each of the square tables can hold up to four seats and the rectangular tables can hold up to eight. In the center of Wingate, instead of the dim lights, there will be rows of LED lights above the first level providing luminosity above us which would give a bright atmosphere for students to enjoy their food while socializing with one another. Moving towards the center of Wingate, there will be stairs leading to the Wingate Gym.

Fig 3: Floor plan for Dining Hall

2nd Floor- STUDY ROOM

On the second floor when going up the stairs in the center of Wingate, we enter the study floor. Within the study floor, there will be three different sections that separate the public group study rooms, the computers, and the quiet rooms for individual work. On the left side of the study floor, there will be six glass cubicles with two large whiteboards, a long table, and eight seats used for group study sessions. In these cubicles, time will be limited up to two hours and you’ll need to register to reserve a spot and choose a time via QR code that’ll show the next available room with a queue indicator. These glass cubicles are also soundproof from the inside to prevent disturbance throughout the floor. Although the walls will be glass, it’s important for the sake of respect and appropriate use of the rooms that’ll help prevent mischief; rather than focus on productivity. Focusing towards the center of the room, there will be a plethora of desks with dividers that focus on individual and small group work and studying. Near the staircase, there will be single desks with dividers between each spot placed near the center of the floor. Smaller group study areas are towards the windows in the front and back to maximize space for preferred study methods. In these smaller group study areas, there will be a rectangular table that can hold up to ten seats. Finally, towards the right side of the room, there will be 20 computers for those who need quick internet access for whatever the case. Similar to the policy of the cubicle, these computers can only be accessed via QR code to ensure appropriate use amongst everyone. Since there aren’t a lot of computers on this floor, the policy grants the user a maximum of 30 minutes because the purpose of these computers is implemented if the person’s personal devices die. Moving towards the center of Wingate, the same stairs will be leading to the Wingate Gym.

Fig 4: Floor plan for Study Floor

3rd Floor- WINGATE GYM

On the third floor, since we aren’t tearing the gym down, the beloved Wingate Gym will be kept as it’s a strong foundation for fitness amongst peers with tons of equipment. In the new Wingate Gym; there will be new dumbbells and barbells that replace the rusty sets we have currently as well as bringing in more up to date modern machines of the Life Fitness brand for better quality lift sessions. In the improved gym, we’ll keep the track above the gym and repave and retrace the lines on the floors to make sure they’re squeaky clean as well as visually appealing with enough traction to prevent injury. Looking down, there will be a row of eight treadmills that will all be kept on the left side, weightlifting machines kept on the center where there are four smith machines, two variety Life Fitness machines, four benchpress benches, and four squat racks. Looking at the right side, free weights kept on the right in a row spanning from 10 pounds to 80 pounds as well as six adjustable benches for free-weights lifting. With this setup, we also plan to have cleaning stations around the gym that contain sanitized wet wipes to maintain the quality, hygiene, and longevity of the facility. In order to use the gym, you’ll still need your CUNY ID  to sign in at the sign-in at the station located at the back of the gym. The locker rooms will remain where they are but will be renovated to visually match the vibrance and aesthetic of the newly renovated gym with brand new Life Fitness lockers . Moving towards the center of Wingate, the same stairs will be leading to the study floor.

Fig 5: Floor plan for Wingate Gym

4th Floor-MAKERS LAB

On the fourth floor, where you enter using the stairs at the center of Wingate, is the Makers lab. On this floor, you will have the opportunity to use your imagination and 3D print things whenever you want. Whether it’s parts for a project or personal enjoyment, there aren’t specific restrictions. However, when gaining access to the expensive equipment, you’ll need to use a QR code to register a spot and also give in your CUNY ID to the faculty in charge; in addition to giving your CUNY ID, you’ll need to sign on time log that is needed to ensure responsibility of the technology if it’s ever damaged. The 3D printers are located on the left side of the floor where there are four 3D printing rooms with three 3D printers each. These stations have plastic dividers that are glossy and hard with shelves filled with multicolored filaments that are used to design objects through the computer attached to it via USB and HDMI. The computers that are used for 3D printing are different from the rest of the computers on floors used for printing and internet access because they have more RAM, SSD, and a GPU to fully utilize the capabilities of 3D printers efficiently with faster processing power. Since these four computers are more advanced in terms of updated parts, they will cost nearly double given the specifications. On the center of the floor, there will be four colored printers that will be able to print color or non-color, depending on the students’ needs. Students would be able to print directly from the computers on the right side of the floor by selecting one of four printers available. This floor will have a total of 20 computers side by side with dividers so students can have privacy and focus on individual work. Each student would login to the computers using their CUNY ID information and be able to stay for as long as they desire. There will also be a lounging area for those who are waiting for their 3D prints to finish. Moving towards the center of Wingate, the same stairs will finally end, leading to the Arts and Crafts/Club Rooms Floor.  

Fig 6: Floor plan for Makers Lab

5th Floor- CLUB AND ART FLOOR

On the fifth floor, when you enter using the stairs at the center of Wingate, you’ll be greeted by the Arts and Crafts/ Club Rooms Floor. The main purpose of this floor is to be able to express yourself creatively through drawing, painting, and music as well as the meetup place for all CCNY clubs. On this floor, there will be six rooms for club meetings and activities that consist of a smartboard, two long tables, and eight seats each. Each room will have sliding glass doors with wood wall finishes. Upon entering these clubrooms, there will be a QR code printed on a piece of paper for each room for reservations. Upon reservations, only club presidents are permitted to access the QR code where they will fill out a specific time (What day of the week and time). When club presidents fill out the form, it will be uploaded to another page that shares every other club president’s schedule on an Excel sheet to promote organization and communication of possible rescheduling with other clubs. Reservations would last up to one month and would need to be renewed to keep recurring schedules or different meeting times. The Art Gallery would be an unique concept where it wouldn’t be in one spot on the floor but rather would be shown and decorated along the walls of the clubrooms. Art will be displayed on the walls within and outside of clubrooms to express CCNY’s artistic imagination as well as fill out the room with vibrance and college spirit. Anyone can submit their work online via Google form where there will be votes every month to showcase a student’s artwork. Every month, the top ten highest-voted art pieces from their perspective creators are then emailed informing them they won and as well as asking them where they want to frame their artwork in the gallery. Although limited space, artists can resubmit their work to get another chance of their artwork be honored. The hype behind the Art Gallery is that given its finite nature, when it’s filled, all voting submissions will come to a halt and the artwork on this floor would be immortalized. To pay respect to the students’ creative works, when they graduate, they have the choice to keep it in the school as a memory of their college phase or to take it down for younger generations of college students to get the chance for their artwork to be displayed.

Fig 7: Floor plan for Clubroom and Art Gallery Floor

Construction Timetable: A gantt chart displaying a step by step process of how we got our project done and the time it was due. 

Cost and Benefits:

Creating a Student Center on campus could have many benefits such as an increase in retention rate, social networking, and even an increase in students’ GPAs. Having a central building for large social gatherings would allow students to more easily meet one another and build friendships. This can lead to more students being satisfied with their time at CCNY and have them want to continue to attend the institution. This is supported by a study conducted by St. John Fisher University in which it stated “The results of the correlation analysis suggested that there was a statistically significant and strong relationship between students’ satisfaction with their social support network, a sense of belonging, and college social activities for the campuses that participated in the 2012 MAUS Student Opinion Survey. Recognizing that there are 91 different correlations presented in the table, those that were in the top 10% can logically be considered the strongest of the correlations and have more significance than those that are not.” (Leah A. Barrett St. John Fisher University The College Union and a Sense of Community for Students in Public Higher Education: Is There a Relationship? 08/2014 ) This quote from the external study showcases how there’s a strong relationship between social circles and having a sense of belonging. This is how retention rates could increase; with an increase in a sense of belonging, there will also come an urge to become more involved in the community such as with extracurricular activities. Having a location to socialize with other students could also see an increase in the average GPA. This is due to the fact that having a support system for school causes students to be more persistent in their work. In a study conducted by a student at Pennsylvania State University, they found that, “Previous research reported a significant association between college GPA and student persistence (Metzner, Lauer, & Rajecki, 2003; Noble, Flynn, Lee, & Hilton, 2007). Our data confirm this association. Results of logistic regression analyses revealed that Fall semester GPA was significantly associated with persistence to the Spring semester (Nagelkerke R2 = .05, 2 (1) = 4.14, p < .05), and Spring semester GPA (Nagelkerke R2 = .18, 2 = 11.25, p < .01) and cumulative first-year GPA (Nagelkerke R2 = .16, 2 = 20.35, p < .001) both were significantly associated with persistence from first to second year.” (LISA M. SWENSON GOGUEN Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton 2010) Students being more persistent in their school work and raising the average GPA would not only make the school look better on paper, causing more students to be attracted to the school but would also increase retention rate from students not being easily discouraged and transferring or dropping out. After showing off only three benefits that come from socializing, creating one building where all of that could take place is an incredibly important addition to any college campus, especially one such as CCNY where socializing with those outside of your classes can seem like a daunting task.

About the Team- Starving Orphans

The team of five extraordinary members are the original planners and creators of Powell Hub student center at CCNY.

Aasim Syed is a freshman majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York. He grew up in Jackson Heights where he attended The Renaissance Charter School. At The Renaissance Charter School, he was a representative of the student body government as well as the recruiter for the chess club. Through these leadership roles, he has gained the ability to effectively guide others and learned how to build long-lasting relationships. His hobbies consist of going to the gym, watching shows or movies, as well as hanging out with friends. Currently, he is learning more skills such as programming in C++, writing professional lab reports, and creating a webpage. Aasim’s goals are to graduate with a computer science degree and make it as a successful cybersecurity engineer.

Al Narcida is a freshman majoring in Computer Engineering at The City College of New York. He was born and raised on Long Island and attended Elmont Memorial High School, where he was chosen to be part of the National Science Honor Society, Tri-M Honor Society, and the Jazz Education Network (JEN). Currently, he is a freshman pursuing a Bachelor in Engineering at The City College of New York. During his free time, he hustles in a family-owned bakery in Maspeth, Queens. Al also is proficient in Photoshop which has landed him an executive board position in the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) as the graphics chair. In SASE he applies his proficient Adobe Photoshop skills to interpret ideas from other executive board members into visuals that are used to advertise events to general body members and potential new members. Al is currently looking for a position in engineering at a reputable company that allows him to stay in New York. 

David Wu is a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York. He grew up in Manhattan, New York, and moved to the Bronx during the pandemic and also attended Millennium High School. When he’s not in school, he works as a head teacher in P.S. 130 DeSoto School where he tutors elementary school students in subjects such as Math and English. Here at City College, he’s slowly but surely adapting to the college environment from learning more about engineering to making lifelong friends he can rely on. In his spare time, he enjoys weightlifting, playing basketball, and playing video games such as League of Legends. David’s goals are to acquire his mechanical engineering degree and also to land a job relating to automobiles that hopefully provides a good work-life balance.

Keith Rivadeneira is a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York. He grew up in Brooklyn and attended John Dewey High School. In his time during high school, he joined the FIRST Robotics Team 333 and is now mentoring for that team. Through his time on the team, he was able to learn skills such as talking to qualified professionals, CAD software such as OnShape and Fusion, basic electrical skills, and develop leadership skills. Outside of school, robotics, and work, he typically spends his free time playing video games and watching movies. His current goal is to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and secure a job with flexible hours that allow him to continue to foster the youths love for engineering through robotics.

Yee Shing Chan is a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York. He moved to New York from Hong Kong at a very young age and grew up in Brooklyn where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School. At Brooklyn Technical High School, Yee Shing an Architectural and Civil Engineering major where sharpened his technical skills in creating physical models out of cardboard, styrofoam, and wood; he also his certification in CAD softwares such as Autodesk AutoCAD, Revit, and Dassault Solidworks. For work, he helps tutor and take care of children at his local tutoring center. He also has his own private tutoring sessions to help those who want help practicing their mathematics for specialized entrance exams like the SHSAT, SAT, and SAT. Whenever he wants to relax, he likes to play video games or work with his hands to create stuff out of wood and other materials. Yee Shing hopes to be able to find work in the automotive or manufacturing industry while also being able to stay in New York City. 

Conclusion:

Looking ahead, Wingate at CCNY is set to become the heart of student life, offering a wide array of amenities to cater to the diverse needs and interests of our student body. From the ground floor dining hall featuring popular food vendors, to the renovated gym on the second floor equipped with modern equipment for quality workouts, the Wingate student center  provides a dynamic space for students to fuel both body and mind. As you move up in the student center, you gain access to multiple floors that allow you to work on your school work, from quiet study spaces, to Makers Labs, that give you free range of creativity, to hubs of artistic expression and community engagement. With each floor designed to enhance the student experience and foster a sense of belonging and connection. We project this student center to drastically increase student engagement, bring up enrollment rates, and increase students’ GPA’s. Wingate is set to remain at the forefront of campus life, empowering students to thrive and succeed both academically and personally.

Appendix:

Brandes, L. C. O. (2006). Graduate student centers: Building community and involving students. New Directions for Student Services, 2006(115), 85–99. 

Ezarik, Melissa. “Texas Tech University’s student union building.” University Business, vol. 9, no. 3, Mar. 2006, p. 22. 

Leah A. Barrett  St. John Fisher University The College Union and a Sense of Community for Students in Public Higher Education: Is there a Relationship? 08/2014 p. 108

LISA M. SWENSON GOGUEN ASSOCIATIONS AMONG PEER RELATIONSHIPS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND PERSISTENCE IN COLLEGE Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton 2010 p. 8
Charts From Survey

Fig 8: Survey for Dining Halls

Fig 9: Survey for food

Fig 10: Survey for Makers Lab

Fig 11: Survey for Study Rooms

Fig 12: Survey for Arts N’ Crafts/Club Room Floor