By Kayla Valera | Staff Writer

Talks of renovating the first floor of Kamōkila have been going on since the Spring 2016 semester and was discussed by KCC’s student committees – Board of Student Affairs (BOSA), Student Congress, Office of Student Affairs (OSA), and Board of Student Publications (BOSP). Since then, the construction done onto the first floor has finally taken place and is moving toward the efforts of creating a student/game center, media lab, and club area with the given space. 

Although the completion of the renovation was projected to be sometime before the start of the Fall 2017 semester, it is apparent that not all phases of the project are complete and will be extended until further notice. 

The only fully renovated room is the media lab located in front of the BOSP office in ʻIliahi 124. While the room has already been repainted and has had several desktops installed for student use, BOSP is still figuring out its plans to move ahead with the media lab. 

The new student center will be where the former lounge area was located, equipped with recreational games such as a foosball table, a pool table and a Playstation. As of now, the only completed phase of this project was the removing of the tables and dividers, repainting the wall, and replacing the chalkboard with a whiteboard for announcements. In the meantime BOSA – the student committee that helmed this particular project – is waiting for the arrival of the pool table and other furniture to finalize the rest of the student center.

The area in front of the Kamōkila 127-129 offices will soon be converted into a club space sometime before the Spring 2017 semester. (Photo by Kayla Valera)

“I believe [the student center] will bring more students onto campus and get them more involved,” said current president of BOSA, Dougie Barbieto, about his perspective on the overall renovation of Kamōkila. “Our vision is to make a space that feels like a home for [the students] and so that they can relax and have fun and network.”

Once complete, the student center will be open for use to KCC students who can present their student I.D. to either a BOSA or OSA member who will monitor the area; students will have a one-hour time limit on the use of these recreational games. For now the finished product of this renovation is set to sometime by the end of September, if not before the end of the fall semester. 

As of now, the only area that has yet to be renovated is the conversion of the club space, which is planned to take place in front of the Kamōkila 127-129 rooms. The intention of this club space is to bring clubs together so that they can have a place to conduct meetings and further student involvement. It is the Student Congress that is responsible for this project and will sort out plans throughout the rest of the semester. Because this is the last area to be renovated, this club space will finally be of use at least before the Spring 2017 semester.