Project Spotlight: "The Elec Lounge"
Guys, don't be shocked. The Rice chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers plans to open its own lounge around late October. The lounge, temporarily dubbed the "Elec Lounge," is located in room A 121 of the Abercrombie Lab.
The co-presidents of the Society, McMurtry College seniors Richard Latimer and Hana Wang, have planned during the summer to create a study area for electrical engineers.
Latimer said that he couldn't find space in the Fondren to study at times. In this regard, Latimer and Wang hope this lounge will fulfill the needs of electrical engineers, known as "elecs," who need the extra space due to the demands of their course load.
Over time, they anticipate the lounge being filled with books and study materials for electrical engineers.
"We spent some time during the summer planning what is our vision for the Electrical Engineering Society, not just for this year, but for the next five years," Latimer stated.
He and Wang envision this lounge as not only as a study area but also as a location for social gathering: "elecs" could work together on personal projects or simply get together and chat.
"It's a place you can go that will be home for elecs," stated Latimer. "There may be books since graduating elecs can donate books…you don't have to buy books."
Sid Rich College sophomore Joel Yin, an electrical engineering major, expressed his view on the Elec Lounge.
"The distance might deter me from walking there, but…the lounge is a good opportunity to bring the elecs together," stated Yin. "It's a good thing that we have our own lounge, and it has potential to house many…group events."
"And there is perhaps incentive in knowing that we ‘elecs' have the first ‘personal' lounge or at least from what I hear, no other engineering majors have their own lounge," reflected Yin.
Latimer noted that an advantage they enjoyed was that there are relatively fewer numbers of electrical engineering majors compared to other engineering majors.
Trying to design a lounge that could accommodate all of Rice's mechanical engineers, for example, would be more of a challenge.
"Primarily it'll be for people to go to that's not the library for when you're studying," said Latimer.
However, he emphasized that the he and Wang meant for the lounge to develop and grow on its own in the upcoming years.
"The department is willing to allocate a little bit of funds … but getting the decoration and furniture will have to be on a rolling basis over time,"Latimer admitted.
Latimer stated that for now, the lounge will be decorated with old furniture, some rugs, and posters.
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