In April 2024, the general managers of WVAU told then-Rebbeca Haghnegahdar and other club members that they likely wouldn’t have a studio next year.
Haghnegahdar, an e-board member and DJ, would have no studio, no media space and no communication from American University administration moving forward.
“I loved being in the studio, and they kind of just got rid of it without telling us where we were going to be for the next year,” Haghnegahdar, a junior in the School of Communication, said.
Since the summer of 2023, the University has renovated Leonard and McDowell Hall, Roper and Clark Hall, the Terrace Dining Room and the Mary Grayden Student Center. In the spring of 2023, the University announced plans for the Student Thriving Complex, costing approximately $89 million for both the Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance and renovations in MGSC.
Prior to the renovations, the Asian American Student Union maintained a storage space on MGSC’s second floor. But over the summer of 2024, AASU lost access to the space and all their materials were thrown away by the University, Haghnegahdar said.
Reactions to the MGSC renovations reflected the alleged lack of communication between student clubs and administration. While they offered new spaces on campus, Haghnegahdar and others suggested the University could’ve invested its resources into renovations elsewhere on campus.
“It’s nice we have so many spaces in MGSC, but SOC could use some renovations inside, or one of the other academic buildings that are pretty old,” Haghnegahdar said. “I think [MGSC] and the TDR renovations were very much just like a facelift, and they didn’t change that much.”
However, renovations to living spaces on campus seem to provide more than a fresh coat of paint and new furniture. Charlie Murphy, a junior in the School of International Service, found McDowell Hall noticeably improved, with updates including pod-style bathrooms.
Now, Murphy says the University should allocate its resources to ensuring students have access to necessary equipment. A recent flood in the Anderson Hall basement ruined half of the computers in a lab students used for homework assignments, and the printer in the McDowell lobby is frequently broken, according to Murphy.
Printers in the library basement often find lines of students waiting to print last-minute papers, but flooding and pipe troubles forced the floor to close for repair earlier in the year. Without library printers, meeting deadlines for printed submissions leaves students like Murphy at a loss.
“We should really focus on making sure that all the students can have proper access to resources on campus whenever they need them,” Murphy said.
This article was edited by Natalie Hausmann, Payton Anderson and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo, Ava Stuzin and Jaden Maitland Anderson. Fact-checking done by Andrew Kummeth.
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