The vacated space in the Usdan Student Center that used to house various student organizations and the Department of Student Life will be refurbished and become the home for many departments, organizations and student clubs all vying for this prime location, according to administrators.With the opening of the Shapiro Campus Center last year, Student Life, the Brandeis University Bookstore and many student organizations, including the Justice, WBRS, the Student Union, Waltham Group and Archon, moved their operations from Usdan to Shapiro. One year later, plans are still in the works as to how the empty space left behind should be used.

According to Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett, there is a long-term plan being spearheaded by Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy to "create a one stop shopping area for students where they can take care of all their business at once," instead of having to go to various offices and buildings throughout campus. This vision would include moving the Information Booth in upper Usdan downstairs where most of the student traffic is and moving many of the offices currently located in Kutz, such as the Campus Card Office, the Registrar, the Department of Residence Life and Academic Affairs, to open space throughout Usdan.

"There is a commitment that if we loose any meeting rooms or lounges during this transformation they will be replaced somehow, since they are currently used on an almost daily basis," Bennett said.

The centerpiece of this vision is to turn the vacated bookstore into a game room for student enjoyment. According to Bennett, "last year their seemed to be a great interest among students to use that space as a game room. Although there are many new students on campus this year, we hope that the same feelings are held."

This past summer many students, including Union President Josh Brandfon and Vice President Ken Gantz, helped to move many of the games located in the sub-basement of Usdan so that they could be relocated to the old bookstore. According to Brandfon, the game room should be opened by Oct. 1. Brandfon stated that over the summer, he and Gantz, "built storage space downstairs for nine of our clubs to help alleviate the problem of having to leave sports equipment and costumes in (students') dorm rooms and cars."

Furthermore, there is an application on the Union Web site that clubs can fill out to request storage space in the Usdan sub-basement as well as in other locations around campus.

There is currently a scramble among many student organizations that are also looking for room in Usdan. Among these are various club sports who have no storage room or inadequate facilities, and the Muslim Students Association (MSA), whose prayer room is currently located in the basement of Gordon Hall in North Quad.

Brandfon said that a prayer room for the MSA is "one of our very top priorities and we hope not to make them wait until after the fundraising for Usdan renovation has been completed."

All of these improvements are part of a long-term plan formulated by the Project Advisory Committee that was led by Dan Feldman, chief-of-staff in the Office of the Executive Vice President, and consisted of representatives from various constituencies. Students sitting on the committee included Brandfon, former Class of 2005 senator Michael Corwin and current '05 senator Erica Lamansky.

According to Feldman, the University has been "working with the architectural firm Miller, Dyer, and Spears to determine how we could best use the space in Usdan to meet the needs of all the people in our constituency."

As of Sept. 4, the University gained approval from the Budget and Finance Committee to bring the Usdan proposal in front of the entire Board of Trustees. Assuming the University gains approval, which according to Feldman is "reasonably certain," it would take the architect five months to complete the design. Afterward, the construction would be placed up for bidding and the chosen contractor would need approximately four months to complete the project.

The project's funding is a different issue. "So far a gift of $2 million has been unveiled by University President Jehuda Reinharz, but that will only cover a small part of construction," Feldman said.