Students will now be able to find a spot in the library’s study room with the new system at the Pearson Library, students are now able to reserve a study room far in advance.

This is one of the several changes that were made on campus over summer to benefit the needs of students.

Other developments made on campus were in the Writing Center and in the Forrest Fitness Center.

At the Pearson Library, there is now a program called LibCal, where students are able to instantly view the availability of a study room and reserve a room online.

This capability is accessible for study rooms 124, 125, and 126.

The rules for study rooms remain the same as previous years. Students can obtain one for two hours at a time and must provide their ID card to the employee at the front desk upon arrival.

“This is much more efficient for students. They can access it anywhere, anytime,” said Toria Axworthy, evening circulation supervisor.

The library also added two systems to the website, called Lib Answer and Lib Chat. Lib Answer is an online system where students can ask questions about references, resources, and other library knowledge.

Frequently Asked Questions are also provided to the students for quick help. Lib Chat is available from 10a.m.-10p.m. and allows students to contact a librarian to ask a question via chat. These systems are available through www.callutheran.edu/library.

The Forrest Fitness Center also underwent many revisions throughout the summer, through construction and program development.

“We ripped out one of the major walls in the gym to open up the place and allow for a more open environment. Machines are now properly spaced out and it doesn’t give off the illusion of being crammed,” said Zack McMillen, intern for recreational sports.

The Forrest Fitness Center will continue to offer intramurals and others programs to students, but is also going to offer trips for the students. The first of many will be white water rafting near Sacramento on the American River on Sept. 20. For more information and to sign up, students can contact Paul Hartmann, coordinator for recreational sports, at [email protected].

Under new direction, the Writing Center has made many changes recently, starting with their philosophy. Based on research done by the International Writing Centers Association, Scott Chiu, the new Writing Center director and assistant professor of english, is going to incorporate researched perspective.

One new feature at the Writing Center is having consultants instead of tutors, to assist in and improve the writing process. These consultants, who are often undergraduates and english majors, will not just edit papers; they will collaborate with their peers and help develop ideas and build better writers.

“It is not just a tutoring center. The Writing Center is more proactive in their roles on campus and will reach out to faculty and students and engage conversation about writing. It is more like teaching writing in a non-traditional way and building a peer relationship,” said Chiu.

With all the progression that occurred around campus during summer, CLU students have more opportunities to achieve success.

Cate Dimmit
Staff Writer
Published Sept. 18, 2013