Survey results determine changes at RMC

A diagram of the Rice Memorial Center shows new officer locations
Student Center staff are readying a report on the 987 responses to a survey sent out least semester asking what the Rice community disliked about the Rice Memorial Center, according to Student Center Director Kate Abad.
“Already, the results of the survey have impacted what our priorities were for the summer,” Abad said. “There are obviously some longer-term goals that we’ve identified in the survey that we are unable to meet without a new building. We cannot create additional space.”
Abad said although she is advocating for a new student center, there was currently no commitment on whether a new one would be built.
“There is no timeline right now,” Abad said. “There is no donor identified currently. We are in a needs-assessment stage, and the plan ... is to do focus grouping this fall to see if our current space on campus is being used appropriately, if the needs that people expressed [servable by] repurposing space around campus, or do we truly need a new student center?”
With the new changes, Ambassador Cafe will be moving to Willy’s Pub, with Droubi’s replacing it in the window space. Sammy’s will now be the new location of Dining at Sammy’s which features four new food options by Housing and Dining: pizza, burger, taco and servery “concepts.”
In the Brown Garden, new benches and power outlets are being installed, while modern upholstery has been added throughout the RMC.
Various offices have also been relocated (see map).
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