East Campus Opens its Doors to the Public

Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print

Last Thursday marked     the Grand Opening Celebration for the Adams State East Campus and the Department of Human Performance and Physical Education (HPPE). This event took place as part of the Autumn at Adams week on campus.
The event started at 4 p.m. with a short ceremony, followed by an open house with food and live music. ASU President Dr. David Svaldi began the opening ceremony by welcoming everyone to the new East Campus and thanking the numerous professors and university employees that helped make this end result possible. Margaret Doell then spoke to the crowd about how the building impacts the college from the perspective of academic affairs.
Finally Josh Garibay, an HPPE major and president of the HPPE club, spoke about how this new building affects HPPE students. Garibay talked about how the HPPE major is one of the main reasons that he chose to attend Adams State. He said that when he started in the program, the conditions were not ideal. The HPPE classrooms had no windows and the desks were so small that students couldn’t properly take notes or participate in classes. Garibay also said that it was a pain to find and talk to his different teachers. He believes that the move to a new building is such a huge step for the HPPE department. Now the students have windows in their classrooms and their learning environment has drastically improved, according to Garibay. He believes that the HPPE program now has an identity.
The ceremony finished with Dr. Svaldi and several HPPE students ceremonially cutting a badminton net. The public could then tour the facility and find out what it has to offer. The new building features several labs and classrooms, including an exercise physiology lab and a biomechanics lab. There is also a study area and a room with ping-pong tables. At the event, there were also refreshments and entertainment by the Rippah Shreddahs.