Simai Kang
Campus Beat Reporter
On Oct. 21, University Center (UCen) Director Louis Reynaud formally and proudly announced the grand opening of the Game Room in UC Santa Barbara’s (UCSB) UCen on the first floor beside the Panda Express and Root Burger.
The Game Room, which is only open to UCSB students, includes activities like pool, air hockey, pinball, shuffleboard, bumper pool, the “King Kong Game,” and an arcade machine where you can play “Street Fighter.”
“There are all kinds of games you can enjoy here as a Gaucho, and all you need is your student ID to get in,” said Chawn Lemons, Meeting and Events Manager at the UCen, in an interview with The Bottom Line (TBL).
At the grand opening, Reynaud cut the ribbon to the room, unveiling a new space for students to enjoy. Since it was the first day, students could go in without their student ID.
The game room isn’t too big, but the gaming equipment inside caught many people’s eyes. According to Reynaud, the room cost about $60,000 to build and renovate the previously empty space.
“I think it’s pretty cool, but when they said 60 grand, I was like, what? It looks small from the front, but it’s okay, I guess,” stated Walter Omar, an undergraduate student at UCSB, in an interview with TBL in regards to this new game room.
“Back in the ’80s and ’90s, they used to have the Game Room. After a few years, they stopped having it, so we thought it might be something good to bring back to the students because the students were always saying that there’s nothing free in the UCen to go have fun, and it’s a response to that,” said Lemons.
The Game Room also gives you something to do after you finish your food. Or, if you’re waiting for an event, the Game Room is a great place to hang out.
About three years ago, students were concerned that everything they did here needed to be paid for, and that there was nothing on campus that could be done for free. It was after this that a student approached the director and gave him the idea of a game room in the UCen.
“I said, ‘Okay, you guys design it,’ and they did a QR code, did a survey, and had some students find out what games they wanted. So, we voted on it, and they presented it to the governance board. The board voted on it and got a budget of about $55,000+. [The Game Room is] where we spent the money on; it took a while, but we finally got it,” said Reynaud in an interview with TBL.
Most of the original student advocates for the Game Room have graduated, but many of them attended the grand opening. With these students’ ideas, they made the community a better place for future Gauchos.
“It is made by students and for the students. This is a student union building. It’s going to help the foot traffic here for the restaurants. This was done by an alum who works on the high staff. I think the overall goal was for greater camaraderie, school spirit, and morale — that’s what we had planned, that’s what the students said it was going to do,” concluded Reynaud.