Talking Stick - March/April 2011 - 47

FIRST TAKES

GROUND

breakin

BRINGING PROGRAMMING TO LIFE
Near the end of 2010, HBO collaborated with Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, to host a symposium on the programmer’s series “Treme,” a drama following the lives of local residents and musicians after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. The series is based on Treme, an old New Orleans neighborhood rich with African American music and culture. Debuting in April 2010, the first episode shows what the city’s condition was like three months after the hurricane engulfed the city in 2005. “The Art of ‘Treme’” symposium provided college and university students and faculty with the opportunity to share their reactions and feedback with the show’s producers, David Simon and Eric Overmyer, along with Clarke Peters, who plays Albert in the series. Several Tulane professors as well as New Orleans writer and poet Gian Smith also participated in the panel. Students were given the opportunity to reflect on the physical devastation and emotional aftermath of the hurricane while also embracing the distinct cultural features of the neighborhood. The event emphasized HBO’s efforts to become more involved with colleges and universities, encouraging the use and engagement of their programming to help college students learn and develop. The symposium was sponsored by HBO, the Tulane African and African Diaspora Studies Program, the provost’s office, and the New Orleans Gulf South Center.

Texas State University-San Marcos

San Marcos, Texas Project Opening: August 2010 • Cost: $49.5 million Designed by Kirksey, this 189,448-square-foot complex will be located central to the Lyndon B. Johnson Student Center and will house 612 residents. The facility, which will be constructed by SpawGlass, will consist of two individual residence halls connected by a two-story community building. The community area will feature meeting rooms and study lounges, recreational spaces, and a 24-hour reception desk. Each hall will offer students double or single rooms with community-style bathrooms as well as study and lounge spaces on each floor.
Gannon University

Erie, Pennsylvania Projected Opening: August 2011 • Cost: $17 million Designed by Burt Hill, the new five-story hall constructed by Building Systems, Inc. will house 293 students in a 100,000-square-foot space. This will be the first residence hall built since 1987, and it is the first of three planned residence halls. Upperclass students will reside on the first two floors in four-person apartments, and first-year students will live on the other three levels in fiveperson apartments. Amenities include a convenience store, a fitness area, communal kitchens, lounges with fireplaces, and study lounges with smart technology.
Framingham State College

Framingham, Massachusetts Projected Opening: August 2011 • Cost: $48 million The new residence hall at Framingham will be designed by Pfeufer Richardson Architects and built by the Consigli Construction Company. It will house 410 students in four-person suites as well as in connected doubles and singles that share bathrooms. Features include a convenience store, a first-floor grab-and go dining facility, and a large outdoor recreation space. With an emphasis on sustainable features and systems, the residence hall will achieve Massachusetts LEED Plus certification.
Westfield State College

Westfield, Massachusetts Projected Opening: September 2011 A 20-year-old apartment building will be renovated to house 216 students in 42 apartment-style units. There will be one-bedroom units with two students per unit and two-bedroom units with five students per unit. The project will be developed and managed by Fs Holdings Lansdowne, making it the first publicprivate student housing partnership of any state college in Massachusetts.

MARCH + APRIL 2011

Talking Stick - March/April 2011

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