The Pioneer, OCCC’s student newpaper, moved recently to a new location — 1F2 in the Arts and Humanities Building. Facilities Management Director J.B. Messer said the college spent $200,000 renovationg and equipping the new area that formerly housed the pottery lab, now located in the Visual and Performing Arts Center. (Jennifer Massey/Pioneer)

The Pioneer student newspaper staff settled into new offices Aug. 16 near the west entrance to the Arts and Humanities building. The new facility is completely remodeled.

The area once housed the pottery lab before it moved into its new quarters in the Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Besides the student newspaper, the Broadcast News Lab, audio booth and podcasting studio also moved into the space.

Arts and Humanities Dean Susan VanSchuyver said she is glad most of the journalism department is now located close together.

“It benefits students and faculty, and brings all the resources together in one area,” VanSchuyver said.

Gwin Faulconer-Lippert, mass media communications professor, said she is happy with the new quarters.

“This is the nicest thing the department has received in all the 20 years I have been here,” Faulconer-Lippert said.

Sue Hinton, journalism professor, said moving to the new area is exciting and makes the Pioneer more visible.

“We are now in a new location that allows students to see us,” Hinton said. “The area makes a clear and inviting impression.”

She said she enjoys the amenities the office now offers.

“There is now space for students to come and work comfortably among their peers, where they can also seek help from the staff,” Hinton said.

Facilities Management Director J.B. Messer said in an e-mail message the construction cost was $117,905.81. Total cost was about $200,000.

“The furniture, fixture, and equipment cost was $65,201.17.

“We built in the workstations in the Pioneer and audio labs, which shifted approximately $26,000 from the furniture, fixture, and equipment cost to the construction cost,” Messer said.

Jeremy Cloud, journalism major, said he worked as a staff writer for the Pioneer during the spring semester.

Cloud said the new classroom, audio booth and offices were a much-needed improvement for the newspaper.

But, he said, he will miss the original carpeted walls that enclosed the Pioneer newspaper office that used to be housed on the second floor of the Main Building.

“It’s all about progress, and that’s what the paper is doing,” Cloud said.

“They are creating an image and building a place that their students and employees can work in for years to come.”

He said for now he will be a freelance writer for the Pioneer, but hopes to return to the staff in the future. He said he cannot wait to experience the modern workplace.

Hinton invites everyone to visit the Pioneer office, located in the Arts and Humanities Building in Room 1F2.

Staff Writer Bonnie Campo can be reached at staffwriter3 @occc.edu.