Colgate University’s campus suffered a brief storm on Monday, Aug. 5 that took down branches and tree limbs. One tree that landed on the roof of the Africana, Latin, Asian and Native American (ALANA) Cultural Center caused significant damage to a portion of the building’s roof,
Joe Hernon, associate vice president for emergency management, campus safety and environmental health and safety, sent out an email to the Colgate community on the day of the storm. Over a month later, the plans for repair are underway.
In a follow-up email on Aug. 16, Vice President and Dean of the College Paul McLoughlin and ALANA Cultural Center Director Esther Rosbrook informed the community that while the lounge space in ALANA will need to undergo serious renovations, the multipurpose room (MPR) will be reimagined to make up for the damages on the south side of the building in the mean time.
“While the MPR cannot fully replace the lounge vibe, with your help, we will try to ensure that nothing is lost during the fall semester except for the roof,” the update read.
ALANA’s multipurpose room is now decorated with an array of comfortable seating, pillows and blankets that mimic the feel of the lounge. Rosbrook is happy that students are utilizing the revamped space in a way that continues to promote healthy communication and working habits.
“With the new furniture now in place, students are already enjoying the space for studying, working on assignments, organizing and hosting student organization events, conducting meetings and building connections with one another every day until 9 p.m.,” Rosbrook said.
In another email sent on Aug. 29, McLoughlin and Rosbrook stated that Colgate’s capital projects team expects to receive essential replacement supports from the manufacturer within six to 12 weeks. These orders include steel trusses specially manufactured for the building. The team is also searching for a quarry that will provide an exact match to the existing slate roof. The team plans to finalize all lead times and repair schedules within two weeks from the date the email was sent.
“These [issues] are delaying us [from] having workers on site right now, but really important, obviously, because they will determine how good it looks at the end of the day,” McLoughlin said.
Sophomore Holly O’Brien had a CORE sciences class in ALANA last year and hopes students will continue to learn and take classes in the unique space.
“Having a class in ALANA was always a refreshing experience, with the large glass windows and a more organic environment than my other classes,” O’Brien said. “I hope that the innovations are similar enough to what I experienced last semester so that students feel as though they, too, are escaping into a more peaceful environment during their classes.”
ALANA is still dedicated to its role on campus as a destination for extracurricular activities and events. On Friday, Sept. 6, ALANA held its annual event, ALANAPalooza. ALANAPalooza is the cultural center’s yearly event that includes food, student performances and giveaways.
According to McLoughlin, these repairs are scheduled to be completed by early winter, depending on the weather. With this schedule, ALANA would be back to its full capacity by the spring semester.
