Instead of sitting on hard concrete benches outside Carmichael Hall, next fall students can curl up on wooden benches surrounded by flowers to study and talk with friends.
Personalized bricks will go from the building doors to Carmichael Circle, which is in front of the hall. Wooden benches, flowers, bushes and more bricks will surround the circle, with additional plants and possibly a statue in the center.
Student Government Association, Residence Hall Association and Facilities, Planning and Management worked together to finalize plans for the project.
Ryann Bogdon, Wilson Hall residence assistant, said she suggested fixing the circle to Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora during the summer.
"It's ugly," Bogdon said. "It's not pleasing like the rest of Ball State."
Gora suggested she speak to Facilities, Planning and Management about renovating the circle, Bogdon said.
The department had actually started the project five years ago, but only finished landscaping half of it, she said. Trees and bushes were planted, but now they need to be updated.
Mike Planton, Facilities, Planning and Management associate director of landscape and environmental management, said a former intern, Rebecca Schmiesing, designed the circle project. It wasn't completed because of a lack of money and time, he said. Also, he said he wanted to finish McKinley Project.
"I had already decided to do the project before they called me," Planton said. "We worked in conjunction to finish the plans."
Along with the landscaping, a sculpture may be put in the center of the Carmichael Circle, Planton said. They were going to place a tree there, but the roots would hit utilities underneath the circle.
However, most of the renovation will be bricklaying, he said.
Bogdon said she wanted to involve students with the project since it's meant to serve them. Personalized, engraved bricks to be used in the project can be purchased for $20. By purchasing the bricks, students will be able to show they care about Ball State, Bogdon said.
"I just wanted students to have a chance to leave their marks on Ball State," she said.
Senior Megan Gourley works in Carmichael Hall and said it is a neat idea. She said she would probably buy a brick because they aren't expensive and she wants the hall to look nicer.
Shawn Meier, SGA Carmichael Circle Project chairman, said Bogdon approached him about the project, and he thought it was a great idea.
"I was there to help out and use SGA connections to speed the process up a little," he said.
Bogdon and Meier said the bricks cost about $15, but SGA and RHA are charging $5 more and giving the proceeds to the Make-a-Wish foundation through the National Residence Hall Honorary.
Brick order forms will be available by the end of the week in the Student Life Office and residence halls. They are due by Spring Break.
The project is expected to take a month and a half to complete and should be finished by Fall Semester, Planton said.
Bogdon said the circle project will provide students with a place to hang out in front of the building, especially during warm weather.
Meier said he hoped the project will do more that make Carmichael Hall prettier.
"Hopefully this project will not only make it look better," he said. "But that it will attract students and make them feel more a part of the project."
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