Plattsburgh State students will be able to enjoy Moffitt Hall’s new features next semester.
Upon arrival, residents will find more open space and a new interfaith prayer room, which will feature a foot wash station to accommodate Islamic prayer customs.
PSUC junior sociology major Kevin Costello said he appreciates the idea of an interfaith prayer room.
PSUC Director of Housing and Residence Life Stephen Matthews said the original plans for the prayer room included a sink, but in talking with Muslim students, he said he found that a foot wash station would be more conducive to student prayer.
“The Muslim religion requires them to wash prior to praying,” Matthews said. “One of the areas of their body they have to wash is their feet.”
Matthews said after Moffitt Hall is complete, the campus will turn its attention to the renovations of Wilson Hall for the 2016-2017 academic year and Macomb Hall the following year. After those two residence halls are renovated, Matthews said Whiteface Hall and Kent Hall will be next.
He said that the campus will use Moffitt Hall to house PSUC’s freshman population during Wilson Hall’s renovation.
“We’ll evaluate what our next steps are at that point, but the plan is to try and get through Kent before we do that,” Matthews said.
He said recent renovations will provide another much-requested feature for residence hall bathrooms: more privacy.
The new bathrooms in Moffitt Hall will have doors in front of every toilet and shower, providing more privacy to students than they have in non-renovated residence halls.
Adirondack Hall and deFredenburgh Hall currently feature gender-inclusive housing, but Matthews said more of these housing units could be established if student demand exists. He also said campus faculty and staff tries to listen to students to create change that suits their needs.
This way, Matthews said, if residence hall staff members choose to provide more gender-inclusive housing than what is currently available in Adirondack Hall and deFredenburgh Hall, there will be no barriers where bathrooms are concerned.
Shower facilities will feature a shower, curtain, changing area and door, in that order. Matthews said each floor will have accessible bathrooms, complete with water-saving toilets.
Matthews said new windows have been installed in Moffitt Hall that are better equipped to trap heat for better energy efficiency.
PSUC freshman TV/video production major and Wilson Hall resident Colleen McCarthy said her residence hall has some nice features, but the building needs a renovation.
Time will tell how students react to the renovation, but Matthews said he is optimistic.
“I’m kind of excited for people to see it,” Matthews said.
Email Tim Lyman at news@cardinalpointsonline.com
