OUT WITH THE OLD
THE FALL OF MEADE HEIGHTS
Alas, our beloved Meade Heights is becoming dust in the wind.
The buildings are half-demolished already because the College allowed them
to be used in emergency training drills. The drills involved blasting holes in the
roofs and walls and shattering windows, which made the houses unlivable.
They are now considered a safety hazard, which is why the College is trying to
tear them down quickly.
The demolition began October 6 and the school hopes it will be completed
before the weather becomes too cold. Demolition is expected to take at least
three months and the College estimates that it will be completed sometime in
late November.
Upon completion, the only visible rCmains of Meade Heights will be the
cement slabs that served as flooring. The demolition team is doing its best to
recycle as much material as possible.
Even though the College owns the land Meade Heights is built on, there
plans for the remaining area. Some ideas are under consideration but will
acted upon for at least a year, after all other campus reno
vations and additions are completed.
One possibility is to sell the land to the trucking company
behind Olmsted . If the trucking company purchases some
of the land, they will have an alternate road to their build
ings. This will keep the trucks away from College Avenue,
the main road of the Penn State Harrisburg campus.
Meade Heights had a capacity of 450 students as com
pared to the Village apartments, which can currently hold
only 292 students. However, the Village has room for six
more buildings, which would increase its capacity to 500.
While students enjoyed the rural community atmosphere
at Meade Heights, they also like the new dorm-like housing
area. The walking distance is much shorter and students are
more likely to spend time on campus at activities or in the
library.
The ranch style houses were built in 1955 on twenty-five
acres of land now owned by the College. They once served
as officer's quarters for those working on the Olmsted Air
Force base.
DESERTED LION'S DEN WAITING FOR NEW PURPOSE
The new food court has been a great addition to the campus, however, one ques
tion remains: What is going to become of the Lion's Den? The leftover space that
once housed a food establishment is large enough to be considered for many uses.
Robert Brinkley, ITT director, and Ed Dankanich, director of Business Services,
have been working closely to decide how to best utilize the space. Currently, the
need for more technology
classrooms is top priority at
Penn State Harrisburg.
While an absolute design is
not complete, a tentative
plan for four new technolo
gy enhanced classrooms
will eventually occupy what
used to be the Lion's Den.
Two of these rooms will
become student technology
enhanced classrooms
(STEC). One will be
equipped with 29 student
computer workstations and
The old Lion's Den will be renovated
into offices and classrooms.
By KATHRYN HERR
Staff Reporter
By KATHRYN HERR
Staff Reporter
are no
not be
Whose turn was it to
wash the dishes?
This building used to be the resident life office
the other will house 30-45 computer for students to uses. The remaining two
rooms will become instructor technology enhanced classrooms (ITEC), each con
taining one instructor computer workstation each.
All four of the new rooms will be outfitted with audio-visual equipment and
mobility ports on the instructional podiums. The rooms will have the newest
equipment and a modern appearance for an optimal learning experience for stu
dents. One new technology invention allows the instructor to plug their own lap
top into a mobility port and then, with the touch of a button, display the contents
of the monitor onto the screen through a projector. All rooms will have this option
available upon completion.
The new rooms will make use of existing computers from other labs. The old
labs can then be converted for additional use at a later date.
Due to the use of existing computers the majority of the project's cost will be the
construction of the new environment. Demolition and renovation is expected to
begin sometime this winter and an estimated completion time is set for sometime
in late spring to early summer 2004.
Students, faculty, and staff of Harrisburg and Schuylkill campuses will use the
new rooms. Students majoring in engineering, computer science, and primary
education will likely have class in the new classrooms. The addition will also
increase the number of technology enhanced classrooms in the Olmsted Building,
which will decrease the amount of walking distance for students. Administrators
hope to have the new rooms ready for use by fall 2004.
Photos by Jennifer Kauffman