Extreme makeover: Galloway dorm edition

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Extreme makeover: Galloway dorm edition
Renovations to Galloway Residence are set to be finished in December, and students will be returning to living there next fall. Nolan Ryan | Collegian

Galloway Residence will reveal its brand new face next semester after only seven months of construction.

Although it will not house students until next fall, the dorm will be completely finished by December. The new building will feature small study nooks, large gathering spaces, a new kitchen, and new plumbing.

Built in 1949, Galloway was Hillsdale’s oldest unrenovated dorm. Until this year, it had walls with peeling paint, no air conditioning, and unreliable plumbing. Now, Chief Administrative Officer Richard Péwé says that it will not only feature four extra beds, but it will be up to the quality of Simpson and McIntyre Residences. Péwé said he was most excited to be bringing Galloway up to modern standards and unifying the separated spaces of the dorm.

“I think that the idea of having this fluid community space where you can see and be seen is going to be exciting for the residents,” Péwé said. “It is a unique dorm; the rooms are not all the same, so we tried to make sure each floor had community space and study space.”

Whitley Resident Assistant Christian Betts, a junior, plans on returning to Galloway next year. He and some of his fellow former Galloway residents claim to have known about the plans for the interior of their new dorm since the beginning of the semester.

Betts is most excited for the new outdoor amenities, which includes a fire pit. He said it will add to Galloway’s weekly Feast, a tradition in which the men of Galloway grill meat every Thursday night, accompanied by an eclectic mix of music from Johnny Cash to Taylor Swift.

“I think that it is going to be a great improvement to Feast,” Betts said. “We have always wanted a firepit, and last year, we were trying to raise funds to buy one and try to get permission to burn it on the lawn. And now we will have one. It seems like it will be a fun addition.”

Junior Ethan Visser, a former Galloway RA, who is currently an RA at Park Place, a college-owned house, said he is eager to return to his home of two years as an RA his senior year. In the meantime, however, he is working with the construction team to get the dorm ready for its residents come Fall semester.

“Josiah Leinbach emailed all the former Galloway guys and he said it would be like Nehemiah returning to build the walls of Jerusalem,” Ethan said. “I wanted to help build because I thought it would be cool to help build the place I am probably going to live next year, also its a nice break from the books.”