By Olivia Malmsten
It doesn’t appear as if Ohio University’s South Pole will be getting updated anytime soon.
Located underneath Nelson Dining Hall, the room is run by Residential Housing for student organizations, faculty and other university affiliates to use.
The room wasn’t included in the $20 million renovations to Nelson, which included a new Nelson Court, South Side Espresso Bar, Nelson Market and two private dining room additions, because the construction was funded entirely by Culinary Services, said Dan Pittman, assistant director of Auxiliary Sales.
“Nelson Commons’ South Pole is a Residential Housing space and was not included as a formal piece of Culinary Services’ Nelson Commons renovation project,” Pittman said. “However, because the area resides below a portion of Nelson Court, it underwent a few necessary ventilation and cosmetic updates during the overall renovations process.”
South Pole is one of only a few recreation rooms on campus and remains a popular option for students, who can rent the space for free, said Peter Trenta- coste, executive director of Residential Housing.
The room has 100 seats with tables and restrooms.
Reach Out On Campus, an organization composed of stu- dents and faculty who meet for worship, Bible study and community service, have been meeting there since spring 2011, said Rich Teske, director of the program.
“The space is great for us,” Teske said. “(It) works for teach- ing times and for breaking up into smaller groups. I can’t think of any changes we really need for the space...it has been most ideal for us.”
But renovations to South Pole aren’t completely out of the question. The university is completing its Phase I of campus construction.
After then the university will evaluate whether South Pole needs to be repurposed or changed, Trentacoste said.
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