With October right around the corner, students and faculty alike are all wondering the same question: why is the Danna Center still here?

Last October, the university announced construction plans for the Danna Center, in which it was to be torn down and rebuilt on a larger scale. According to these plans, construction should have already been underway this summer, but after consideration, the plan has been put on the back burner and will not happen for another four to five years, according to Robert Reed, assistant vice president of Student Affairs.

“The plan has been delayed in terms of a new student center and residential hall,” Reed said.

In the meantime, Loyola is taking steps to improve the Danna Center and the rest of campus life with changes and renovations to several of Dining Services’ facilities and the residence halls, Reed said.

“We have begun to evaluate what we can do, in short of replacing it, to make it a new and vibrant place,” Reed said.

The university has started talking to different vendors to see what the building could possibly look like and what they can do to keep the current Danna Center up-to-date.

The main goal is to ensure that the Danna Center is meeting the needs of all Loyola students as the years progress, until they can make a more substantial change like rebuilding it, Reed said.

The first round of changes were made to Loyola’s Dining Services this summer.

The Orleans Room was expanded by moving the wall in front out further towards Community Coffee, which added 40 square feet to the room and increased the seating capacity by 130 seats, said Heather Bacque, Sodexo general manager.

The expansion included adding bar seating around the windows and adding more tables and chairs, as well as refurbishing the entire room.

“I’m ecstatic about the O.R. It is very functional now. It looks totally different. I especially love the bar seating. It is beautiful to look out the windows,” she said.

Dining Services also gave the beverage areas a “facelift,” and expanded coffee and gluten-free options. Now students who need to eat gluten free have their own section with a special cooler, Bacque said.

“I think the addition to the O.R. is a positive change. It was desperately strapped for seating before. Adding the bar seating and pushing out the wall has made it more than adequate,” Reed said.

So far, students have given positive feedback on the O.R. renovations.

“Students no longer have to aimlessly walk around the O.R. waiting for a table to be free. There always appears to be an ample amount of seating for the number of students who are eating,” said Allison Monks, accounting sophomore.

Additionally, Sodexo rearranged the C-store to make it more space efficient, moving the registers apart to lessen line build-up when checking out. Sushi has also been moved to Satchmo’s where it now has its own restaurant, Southern Tsunami Sushi Bar and Restaurant, Bacque said.

They added organic and specialty items to the C-store and took the ICEE machine out so they could get the newest technology for it, Bacque said.

“The ICEE machine is coming back,” she said.

Though students agree the O.R. has gotten better, some students don’t think sushi should have been moved to Satchmo’s.

“It’s a hassle having sushi downstairs. It was a big reason people went to the C-store, and I don’t think it should be in Satchmo’s because a lot of people don’t go down there,” said Alex Esquilin, mass communication junior.

The next change to be made to the Danna Center will be fixing the dish return system in the Orleans Room over fall break in October, Reed said.

As for adding a new residential hall, officials are unsure of what to do next, but they are looking at all options and are planning renovations in both Buddig Hall and Cabra Hall on a larger scale for the end of this academic year and all next year, Reed said.

“Next summer there will be extensive renovations in Buddig,” Reed said. “And Cabra will be offline completely all of next year, May 2011 to August 2012.”

There is a possibility of building a new stand-alone residential hall or renting or buying out hotel rooms for students, but it all depends on what the university can accommodate, Reed said.

“There are also other properties which could become available to add additional beds,” Reed said.

On a broader scale, the university is looking at all choices in preparation to make a final plan for the Danna Center.

“We need to do research, so (Vice President and Associate Provost) Cissy Petty and I will be visiting other schools and talking to students, and a full-fledged plan of what’s going to happen will be made by the end of this semester,” Reed said.

Kristen Himmelberg can be reached at [email protected]