Colgate University’s Africana, Latin, Asian and Native American (ALANA) Cultural Center wrapped up the reconstruction process of the building’s roof following damage that ensued from severe weather in August. Among the several downed trees and branches across campus resulting from an Aug. 5 storm, a tree landed on the roof of the ALANA Cultural Center over the lounge area, requiring extensive repairs and replacements.
Director of ALANA Esther Rosbrook stated that the roof, steel frame, multiple walls, floors and carpets needed significant restoration. Unfortunately, many of the center’s bookshelves also needed to be discarded due to severe water damage.
According to a Dec. 5 email from Vice President and Dean of the College Paul McLoughlin and Rosbrook, repairs had been delayed by missing construction materials. McLoughlin and Rosbrook explained that while the multipurpose room and the lounge could be reopened and used for programming by the spring semester, the full replacement of the slate roof and associated copper flashings would be implemented through March and April 2025 dependent on weather conditions.
“The exterior roofing and flashing work will be scheduled once the spring’s warmer weather returns to Hamilton,” the email read.
ALANA, the University’s hub for celebrating cultural diversity, social justice education and community-building, continued operations throughout the semester with slight modifications.
“We made every effort to ensure that the majority of programming continued to take place in the building despite the necessary repairs. The lounge serves as a vital space where students and community members can build personal connections through conversation and informal gatherings,” Rosbrook said. “To maintain this function during the renovations, some of the lounge’s couches were temporarily relocated to the multipurpose room, or MPR, allowing students to still experience the lounge’s communal atmosphere. The kitchen and seminar room continued to be busy during the construction time.”
While construction took place, all academic classes in the ALANA building and large-scale events were held elsewhere. However, smaller cultural events and workshops were still allowed to happen in the seminar room and re-imagined MPR.
“[We wanted to ensure] that programming remained accessible and dynamic throughout the renovation period,” Rosbrook said.
The MPR officially returned to its original function last week.
“We have already resumed hosting meetings, programs, workshops and events in the space,” Rosbrook said. “It’s been wonderful to see the return of a busy, engaged community in the building. We are incredibly happy that the students now have their lounge back.”
Rosbrook mentioned that ALANA still has a few finishing touches, such as re-hanging the indigenous artifacts and rearranging books on the new shelves.
“Students can once again enjoy their familiar and beautiful cozy space for studying and socializing, and we are particularly excited to see many first-year students discovering the lounge for the first time,” Rosbrook said. “Since the tree accident occurred before their arrival last summer, they had never experienced the ALANA lounge until now. We hope they can now fully embrace and benefit from everything the lounge was designed to offer.”
First-year Elyana Belete looks forward to what the rest of the semester offers at the restored ALANA.
“ALANA is a safe space for people of color on campus, it provides a sense of community knowing that there is diversity on this campus everywhere I look,” Belete said.
