Buddig Hall is home to students, as well as the English department.

The department is using room 1211, located on the 12th floor of the residence hall, to hold film studies and digital media classes.

According to Katherine Adams, professor and chairwoman of the English department, no one had used the classroom since before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and they needed the space to teach digital media. This new concentration of the English program was approved last year, and the department required new equipment for their technology related classes.

Information Technology added 16 new Apple computers to the classroom—15 for the students and one for the classroom projector—over the summer. Timothy Welsh, assistant English professor, worked with Information Technology to install the necessary software and programs to the computers.

“They did this for us, and we are thrilled,” Adams said.

To keep the equipment safe, it is only possible to enter the classroom with a key. English instructor Dale Hrebik said that whoever teaches the first class has to get the key from Residential Life. Since the classes are back to back, faculty wait for other colleagues to pass on the key. To get into Buddig Hall, Hrebik has to knock and be let in by a desk assistant, but the students working at the front desk already recognize him, he said.

Adams said that the English department has arranged for students with classes in the room to be allowed into Buddig by swiping their student IDs. However, students using the classroom can only swipe in during the time of their class. The front desk also has a list of the students taking any classes there.

Nolan Storey, English writing senior, sees the classroom as an unnecessary hassle.

“The elevator is always broken, students are late, and that takes minutes away from the class,” Storey said.

He also said the elevator makes people less motivated to go to class.

Professor Hrebik has a different outlook on the classroom.

“It’s nice to have some change,” he said. “It’s a nice classroom, and plus, the view is awesome.”

Christina Chiu can be reached at [email protected]