Construction at the First Year College Commons Building on Cates Avenue has moved quickly since its start on April 25 of last year, and new projections show the building will be completed well ahead of schedule. Facilities Construction Engineer Floyd Williams is the construction site manager and said all work is progressing smoothly with no major setbacks.

“Everything is going very well and we are heading for a completion date in April,” he said.

Williams said the building is not complicated and construction is moving faster than was initially anticipated.

“The original completion date was August of ’07,” Williams said. “We are several months ahead of schedule.”

According to many FYC students, the new building will bring a much-needed sense of unity and authenticity to the program.

Bhagirath Patel, a freshman in First Year College, said the building will be particularly important for future students because it will provide a place for students living all over campus to gather.

“It’s going to be a great resource for the incoming First Year College class,” Patel said. “Rather than having First Year College spread out across Central Campus, it will unify them in one building.”

Lindley Dahners, a freshman in First Year College, said the programs current base of operations in Tucker often feels somewhat illegitimate.

“It will be nice to have the classes in an actual building,” Dahners said. “Right now it’s in the dorm and it’s kind of weird.”

Daniel Wrenn, a sophomore in First Year College, said it will be pleasant to have less cramped accommodations, with the classrooms in Tucker often filled beyond capacity.

“It’s a small area in Tucker,” Wrenn said. “Bigger rooms and offices will be nicer.”

Wrenn also agrees that having a separate building will cut down on distractions and increase the authenticity of the FYC classroom environment.

“In my classes we were often interrupted by students using nearby vending machines and sounds from the laundry room,” he said. “With this new building it will feel more like an academic environment.”

Patel said the construction of this building will cause students to take FYC more seriously. “With this building, First Year College will feel like an established program that’s well planned out,” Patel said. “You really feel like First Year College is the real deal.”