Bollinger Memorial Student Union experienced a facelift over the winter break. Crews began painting and installing new floors Dec. 17 and finished in time to open the doors on the first day of classes, Jan. 18.The remodeled Student Union features palm trees and a lighter color scheme, but still contains touches of the classic red and grey.

“I hope the students like it,” Marie Falgout, interior designer for the project, said. “We used the bright colors because we wanted to turn the lights on, so to speak, and we thought the palm trees would update the look.”

Mike Davis, assistant vice president for business affairs for procurement and physical plant operations, performed a walk through of the building with the architect and contractors on Jan. 14 to inspect the work and make any modifications necessary before students arrived.

“I’m really pleased with the way it came out,” Davis said. “It has a rich touch to it. It’s bright and modern looking, and I think the reaction from the students will be very favorable.”

According to Davis, the Student Union has not been renovated in over 20 years.

“If you consider all the activities that take place in the Union during the semester and multiply that over all these years, it was just time for a face lift,” Davis said. “It was time to modernize it.”

Student-assessed fees were increased in the fall semester to finance the renovation.

“I feel that students should always get something in return for a tuition increase so this is just the first phase of where the students’ money is going,” Gregory Evans, director of the Student Union, said.

This renovation is just the first of two phases. Phase 2, according to Evans, should be completed by the first day of classes in August. Phase 2 will see the addition of new furniture and some new sitting areas. The adjoining hallways to the main lobby will also be painted during Phase 2.

“We are going to coffeehouse/restaurant type space,” Evans said. “We are going to add some barstools and bar tables, and we are going to add some nice comfortable chairs in our upper gazebos. There are also going to be computer stations throughout the Union.”

The colors were chosen to bring a consistency to the interior, according to Evans.

“We wanted to bring some uniformity to the main lobby since it is the biggest traffic area in the building,” Evans said. “It was just a grey hallway before, but now it bright, open, welcoming building.”

Brenda Haskins, director of auxiliary services, said, “We chose an excellent interior designer who did a lot of research and picked colors and a floor design that would be pleasing to college age students. It was important to us that we include the school colors, so she kept the red and grey theme and mixed it in with the new modern look and I think she did a really great job.”

Along with the cosmetic changes, there will be an increase in programming and services in the Student Union starting this semester.

“We are going to try to do smaller events during the weekdays,” Evans said. “Students will be able to come in and do novelty things. Activities could range anywhere from making a music video to making a CD.