New Washers

Coins are out and cards are in with the new clothes washers and dryers in every residence hall. The price for a wash has risen to $2.50, but the 190 new washers have nearly double the capacity of the old ones and drying is free. The washers also use less water. A card will be used to operate the machines instead of coins. Money can be added to the cards in $5 increments up to $40.

New Books

The University Library purchased 1,474 new books, CDs and DVDs since June 1. It also received 350 books as gifts. Titles include “Beer and Philosophy” and “Never Play Leapfrog with a Unicorn.” Also available is “World Spatial Metadata Standards.”

New Art

Photographs taken by Andy Warhol are newly on display this week at the main gallery in the School of Art. The 156 Polaroids are from a 28,543-picture collection, parts of which were donated to 186 schools across the country.

New Building

Oscar Ritchie Hall has a new face and a modernized interior. A year of renovation and $11 million has given the 60-year-old building much needed climate control and other improvements, such as wireless Internet and a rear entrance.

New Landscaping

The new Oscar Ritchie Hall is complemented by a new surrounding landscape of flower beds – daylilies, hostas and a berry tree – and a decorative wall around the nearby oak tree. Along the science corridor near Cunningham and Henderson halls, the black chain fence is shorter – 18 inches tall – and less conspicuous.

New PA System

The university installed a public announcement system that will help notify students, faculty and staff of any emergency situations on campus. A system for alerting a specific person in each building was installed after Sept. 11. But after the Virginia Tech shootings, administrators decided to make it a PA system.

New Sports Equipment

Twelve weight machines compose a new circuit training area in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Lifters will find the Star Trac machines have a good view of the outdoors. Also, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center’s Pro Shop has been renovated.

New Food

Sushi is an addition to Dining Services’ repertoire of menu items. The rice and raw seafood wrapped in seaweed can be found at Tandoori Oven in the Student Center. Also new: Indian cuisine. “Our students are asking for fresher, newer items, and we’ll give it to them,” said Autumn Piller, dining services marketing manager.

New Technology

Room 203 in White Hall sports 23 new shiny Mac computers. At $1,100 each, they are the only publicly available computers on campus that dual boot – that is, they can run both Windows and OS X. The Business Building has new computers in each classroom. The Music and Speech Center and Nixon Hall each have SMART board technology – that is, touch-screen whiteboards.

Contact enterprise reporter Steven Bushong at [email protected].