The C-Store located in the basement of Syme Residence Hall on East Campus is no more. All that remains is an empty space covered by the debris of renovation and the familiar window stickers bearing‚ “Shoes and Shirt Required‚” and “Thank you for not smoking while shopping.”

Closing the C-Store has generated a lot of negative sentiment among its former patrons who want it to return, but according to Susan Grant, director of University Housing, the C-Store is gone for good.

Grant said the cost of renovations necessary for keeping the C-Store was not financially possible and non-residents of the building were using the C-Store to a large extent.

Instead, housing wants to use the space to, “better the building for residents,” Grant said.

“There are a lot of issues‚” Dr. Tim Luckadoo, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, said. “It doesn’t make sense to use valuable space for non-residents.”

Housing plans to use the space previously occupied by the Syme C-Store to add a kitchen, more laundry facilities, public restrooms, and facilities for living-learning villages.

“Syme is the only residence hall without a kitchen‚” Grant said, “the laundry room is undersized for that size building.”

Andrew Downer, junior in food science and resident of Syme, said from his prespective, “it’s a good thing and will help us in the long run.”

Some residents said University Housing sent an e-mail to the residents asking for input on what to do with the renovations, but still felt their opinions had no effect on housing’s decision.

“I feel like we [the residents] had no actual say-so in the matter‚” Downer said.

Residents said they are still waiting to see what happens.

“I do actually want what they say they will give us, but they are taking forever doing what they said they’d do‚” Downer said. “We were told it would be done by the time we got back.”

Sara Bradshaw, junior in graphic design, said the benefit of having the Syme C-store was the convenience. “As a design student, I thought it was really convenient to have that C-Store there‚” Bradshaw said. “Now we have to go to the Quad and although that’s not a far walk it’s still not the convenience that Syme had. It’s disapopinting.”

Bradshaw also said walking to the Honors Commons store while working at the studio late at night is a safety concern.

“I wouldn’t do it at night just because I wouldn’t feel safe doing it,” she said. “That’s what was nice about it being at Syme, it was just at that enclosed area. I wouldn’t walk across the street, across the tracks to do it.”

Downer said the only change so far is that the C-Store is gone.