VWC lacks transgender policies. COMMUNITY Pg. 3
THE MARLIN CHRONICLE THURSDAY 9.15.16 || MARLINCHRONICLE.VWC.EDU ||
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
Time of renovation and construction
Piles of lumber cover the baseball ïŹeld during rennovation. The new bleachers are projected to be ready by spring semester.
Fine arts gets ïŹner
Shining up the diamond
Anthony Dellamura| Marlin Chronicle
Westward expansion
BY ASHLEY KLINE aakline@vwc.edu
BY SARAH ANTOZZI scantozzi@vwc.edu
BY CHRIS BATTLE cdbattle@vwc.edu
Virginia Wesleyan College needs $14 million in order to begin phase one of improving the Fine Arts Building on campus. Donations currently total $12.7 million. In his State of the College Address, Scott Miller, president of the college, gave a promising message regarding the antiquated Fine Arts Building involving the establishment of the new Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. The buildingâs name is meant to honor Susan Goode. Goode and her husband David Goode, donated $5 million to the project. According to Millerâs address, the initial phase will include some long-awaited additions including a glass gallery and theater that will accommodate 300 to 350 people. According to theater professor Dr. Travis Malone, the current Hofheimer Theater was built in 1985 and seats merely 135 people. Phase one will also include renovations to the present Fine Arts Building. Upon completion of phase one, the building will be a total of 28,200 square feet. Miller said he had no intentions on stopping there. âTwo other phases will be added in the future totaling an additional 22,000 square feet at a cost of $14.2 million,â Miller said. Renovations to the Fine Arts Building will have extensive beneïŹts for students. âIt will provide more ways to continue our goal of creating engaging and dynamic performances for all audiences,â Malone said. Regarding the expansion of the theater, Malone said the expansion would prevent the theater department from having to schedule so many showings of events as well as open up new doors for partnering with Coastal Virginia performing arts groups. In addition, Malone said that the renovations to the theatre would offer students new stage production technology as well as a different style of performance venue giving them two varying types of venues to perform in. This will ultimately help performing arts students at Virginia Wesleyan College become more dynamic thus enhancing their ability to get jobs. The new theater will not only beneïŹt theater students but will also provide venues for lectures, meetings and concerts. âLooking at all options for construction and renovation, we determined that a theater building that would serve many kinds of campus events was a priority,â Vice President for Advancement Mort Gamble said.
The Marlins baseball team will play in a freshened venue this coming spring. President Scott Miller announced that the college will use funds donated by Mason and Joan Brock to renovate the baseball stadium complex. The stadium is named after Joan Brockâs father, Kenneth R. Perry. The college will make major upgrades to the bleacher system, dugouts and fencing, incorporate more landscaping and VWC branding and replace several pieces of baseball equipment, according to Joanne Renn, executive director of intercollegiate athletics. Spectators will enjoy better viewing due to the much shorter four-foot inïŹeld fencing. âYou can look over it instead of through it,â Renn said. New bleachers will also be installed. In accordance with new safety codes, these will be closed-system bleachers. This means there will be no openings between the benches and ïŹoors. Renn said they will be handicapped-accessible and will have a seating capacity of 370, 50 of which will be chair-back seats. They will also feature a new climate-controlled press box with a ïŹlming platform. Additionally, Pro-style netting with a brick façade behind it will replace the current chain-link backstop giving pitchers a better visual backdrop. âItâs what they call a good sightline,â Renn said. âRight now thereâs an old windscreen thatâs kind of shredded.â Senior outïŹelder Justin Erby named the new backstop and fencing as the best parts of the upcoming renovations. âFrom the outïŹeld you can see everything,â Erby said, and thus the new backstop would beneïŹt outïŹelders as well as pitchers. He was also pleased about the new, shorter fence. âWith the old fence, you feel caged in.â Freshman pitcher Noah RifïŹe was happy about the new bleacher system saying it gives the feeling that âthe program is on the riseâ and will encourage more spectators to come cheer for the Marlins. While his Florida high school was larger than VWC, he explained that the ïŹeld at VWC is nicer. âIâm really excited for the opportunity I have here this year,â RifïŹe said. RifïŹe said the team atmosphere has been accepting of the freshmen. That positive clubhouse atmosphere can only get better with the coming upgrade to the dugouts. The cinder-block dugout walls will be power-washed and repainted. The dugouts will get new rubber ïŹoor matting and new cabinets for storing bats and helmets.
President Scott Miller announced on Aug. 23 how the school plans to use donations for the construction of a new housing facility named Oxford Village. Miller explained the facility will rest on the 12.8 acres of college-owned land directly across from the college. The housing will honor the Methodist leader John Wesley and its purpose is to house faculty and staff of Norfolk Academy, Chesapeake Bay Academy and Virginia Wesleyan College. Additionally, upperclassmen students at Virginia Wesleyan College will be allowed to live there. âLooking at our current housing situation, it was our collective determination that we didnât have enough apartment-style housing that would satisfy the needs for a growing upper-level, older or even graduate student population,â Miller said. The president also wants this to address distance concerns for staff. âWe also found that there were a number of people at Virginia Wesleyan, Norfolk Academy and Chesapeake Bay Academy that are all located adjacent to here, would be interested in affordable apartments closer to campus if they were available,â Miller said. Director of Residence Life McCarren Caputa commented on the history of discussion surrounding the 12.8 acres. âI think the biggest piece is that we own this land that weâre not doing anything with,â Caputa said. She also noted that many conversations have taken place between members of staff. âDo we put storefronts over there, do we put an apartment complex, do we partner with another company and they build the apartments and we manage it? What does that look like?â Caputa said. Miller has been working with different construction companies to make the dream a reality. âThe Franklin-Johnston Group of Virginia Beach has been selected as our development partner on that property,â Miller said. âAnd weâve signed an agreement and weâll be moving forward during the next twelve months on putting this project in motion.â Among students, there seems to be some confusion as to who will be allowed to live in the new housing. âI heard that itâll be for adult studies,â senior Jennifer Parker said. Parker feels that the village should be an opportunity for older students to live off campus. âWeâre the ones who are trying to live off campus and
SEE FINE ARTS Pg. 2
SEE BASEBALL Pg. 2
SEE OXFORD VILLAGE Pg. 2
INSIDE Cherished campus tradition eliminated Opinions page 5
Menâs Basketball welcomes new coach Sports page 7
Exhibition on campus represents art from Virginia Beach and Norfolk Weekender page 10