The long-planned student lounge came one step closer to reality yet at the Board of Trustees meeting last Friday, March 6 when student body president Haris Aqeel '04 and Alumni Development staff members secured $50,000 in donations.

The student lounge, which would be located between the stairs and the Highlander in the basement of the Campus Center, is projected to cost between $100,000 and $120,000 to construct, according to Macalester College Student Government (MCSG).

The extra $20,000 in student lounge construction costs after the target $100,000 in donations would come from MCSG's Capital Fund, which MCSG uses to pay for non-recurring expenses such as equipment. However, the full $20,000 may not be needed; successful philanthropic campaigns can sometimes run over their donation goals.

After Friday's funding successes, MCSG and Campus Programs are moving ahead with plans to begin construction in April. If crews can complete construction and interior design on schedule, the lounge should be ready for student use by the beginning of Fall Semester 2003.

Including the recently acquired $50,000, the student lounge project now has $60,000 in completed donations and written promises and an additional $20,000 in verbal commitments. Most of the student lounge's funds come from alumni donors, but several parents have contributed as well.

The Alumni Development office and Aqeel are reasonably confident that they will be able to raise the remaining funds to meet their $100,000 campaign target.

"We still have a way to go, but we'll reach the goal," said Director of Major and Planned Alumni Development Kim Dockter. "It is a rule of thumb in fundraising that once you're three-fourths of the way there, you can be pretty confident."

Most of Friday's $50,000 windfall came from one donor who is redirecting to the student lounge project between $30,000 and $40,000 of a donation originally intended for the Macalester College Annual Fund. Until Friday, Aqeel, Dockter, and fellow lounge fundraiser and Associate Director of Major Alumni Development Judy Hawkinson had only managed $10,000 to $12,000 in directed donations.

Aqeel is very grateful to his partners in Alumni Development. "The development office is full of gods and goddesses," Aqeel said. Dockter was equally satisfied with her office's partnership with Aqeel. She said that alumni are "very excited to hear about a space for students" from students like Aqeel.

Citing what he describes as an "overwhelming mandate" for the student lounge, Aqeel has made the student lounge a top personal priority. With the Dockter and Hawkinson's help, Aqeel has personally solicited donations from many alumni.

With the funding sources solidifying, MCSG is beginning to turn its attention to design issues

MCSG enlisted architect Merle Hansen, who has worked with Macalester in the past, to draw up several possible designs for the student lounge. At MCSG's Tuesday meeting, Aqeel presented Hansen's initial drawings of the lounge.

All three designs include a low-price coffee bar, various types of game tables, and an entertainment center with a DVD player and large flat-screen TV.

Hansen and MCSG ran into several difficulties in researching the designs for the lounge, the greatest of which was a possible violation of the St. Paul fire code.

Because of the large maximum occupancy of the lounge, Hansen, who is currently working with Macalester on the Turck extension, had to build a second exit into the designs.

Another design issue faced by student lounge organizers is where to place all the equipment that occupies the storage area that currently makes up much of the potential lounge space. The patio furniture that resides in Bateman Plaza during warmer months, Bon Appetit supplies, and Highlander Store inventory now occupy the storage space and will need to be moved if construction begin April.

Also, MCSG has yet to work out an agreement about the coffee bar with Cafe Mac and Grille operator Bon Appetit. The catering company has an exclusive food service contract with the college.

Aqeel said that he does not think that Bon Appetit will be a problem because MCSG would operate the coffee bar at-cost, and does not intend to profit from the operation.

Wagner thought the student lounge and the Grillé would not compete with each other if the coffee bar limits its offerings to an espresso machine, a popcorn machine, and simple snack foods such as candy bars, pop, and chips.

Assistant Director of Campus Programs Tara Stormoen also played down the possible conflicts between the coffee bar and the Grillé.

"The only overlap is coffee," Stormoen said.

For students who want a full meal while relaxing in the lounge, Wagner envisions a direct phone to the Grille that students could use to place orders. The Grillé could then deliver the food down to the lounge.

However, Wagner does suspect that Bon Appetit may have some grievances if the coffee bar offers a greater selection than just simple snacks and coffee.

"Bon Appetit may have some issues, depending on how the program ends up," Wagner acknowledged.

Stormoen said that there are also worries that the coffee bar could potentially compete with the Highlander Store for business. However, she added that since the Highlander closes at 7 p.m. and the student lounge would probably reach its peak usage much later in the evening, there would be little conflict between the two sources of snack foods.

Aqeel mentioned several possibilities for game tables in the lounge, including air hockey tables, foosball tables, and pool tables. According to Wagner, lounge organizers hope to keep all the game tables free, forgoing the usual game table fee.

After its regular Tuesday night meeting, MCSG held a student forum to solicit input on the design of the student lounge. Aqeel said he hoped that the forum would provide students a means for airing their preferences for the type of game tables MCSG buys and their opinions about the interior design of the room.

However, only three students showed up at the forum, and the trio left after declaring their preference for air hockey tables.

Stormoen is disappointed in the lack of general student involvement in the project so far. "I wish that more students would have been there to share their feedback," Stormoen said. "We have to continue to get students engaged in how they want this place to run."

MCSG began to take action on the student lounge idea, which has struggled through a lengthy fundraising process, after nearly 85% of Macalester students said in a Fall 2001 general survey that they wanted such a facility.