The wait is over! New student lounge set for re-opening.

By: VERONICA BLAKE
Published in The Courier. January 28, 2010.

After eight months without a lounge, students at the CCC campus will finally have a place to relax and hang out.

The lounge closed for renovations June 2009. After several delays, the revamped student-space will reopen early February.

Third-year film student Alessia Peluso, 25, expressed her anger over the lounge closure.

“It’s been under construction for so long,” Peluso said. “We paid for it and we get nothing.”

The Centennial College Student Association Incorporated runs the lounge. The lounge will house the CCSAI offices, where students can get information on the services that the association offers. As well, students can play video games, watch television or simply take a much needed breather from busy school life.

Melissa Feeney is the communications coordinator for the CCSAI and has been involved with the project.

“The lounge really was in need of a face-lift,” Feeney said. “It looked a bit dated…we’re looking for a more modern, professional finish.”

The CCSAI is planning numerous events for the month of February, to coincide with the lounge grand opening. Students can expect to see video-game tournaments, pizza days and extensive Olympic coverage in the new-and-improved lounge. Carl Anthony John is the CCSAI’s vice-president of the CCC campus, and is excited about the opening.

“A lot of food. A lot of fun. A lot of friends,” John said. “All the f’s really. Except for the naughty one… Well, actually, sexy bingo. That’s an event we’ll be doing.”

Without a lounge, students have been forced to get creative in where they spend their down time on campus.

“The piano…has been abused over the last few months,” John said. “The library…got these really cool beanbag chairs. The cafeteria’s never been so busy. And unfortunately…students go to class, and then they just go home.”

First-year corporate communications and public relations student Kylee Berensci is eager to use the space.

“It probably will be a comfortable place…to sit in,” Berensci said. “It sounds a lot better than the caf.”

It’s been a long eight months, but generally students seem excited to have a place of their own.

“(We want students) to know that the wait was absolutely worth it,” John said.

*Editor's note* This was my very first published article. I took it very seriously. I know it's certainly not groundbreaking, but I was really proud of it at the time. In the end, the grand re-opening was pushed back another month, making my story redundant. Good thing that no one really reads the Courier. Ohh.. sad-face.