It's move in day at Ball State, which means for the first time in two years, the Schmidt/Wilson residence hall is opening its doors.
The Johnson West Complex has been under renovation since May of 2015. The new facility will house the theater, dance and design Living Learning Community, meaning students primarily of those majors will be living in the residence hall and will have access to tools in the building to help with their school work.
The facility has a small theater, multiple dance studios, design areas and a main lobby that can be converted into a small stage where students can put on shows.
With the university's Board of Trustees recently approving the funds for a new residence hall, Chris Wilkey, a representative from Ball State Housing and Residence Life who gave a tour of Schmidt/Wilson to the media, said the plans for the new building have not been approved yet. However, he did say the template is similar to what built Schmidt/Wilson.
“The big thing that we do know is that they’ll be revolved around living learning communities," Wilkey said. "So like the next building that just got approved by the Board of Trustees is the STEM learning living community so that will be focused on STEM majors.”
The new facility is fully air conditioned and each room has hardwood floors with every outlet having USB ports that students can use to charge their phones.
With both Johnson facilities now open and fully renovated, Ball State will look to fully replace LaFollette.
