Jessica Bisner's UNCW

Below is a map of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's campus. The numbers in red are placed on the location in correspondence with the posts you can find below.

5. Graham-Hewlett Hall

     The first location I will present is also the first place I start my day every morning and end my day every night. The Graham-Hewlett residency hall was once two separate buildings that now stand together after construction in 2000. This building hosts 384 students, both, male and female, and predominately freshman students.  The two halls are identical with Graham hall on the left and Hewlett hall on the right with a shared great room in the middle. The rooms are set up suite style where typically 2 students will share a room, 4 students will share a common area, and 8 students will share a bathroom that includes 2 toilets, 2 showers, and 2 sinks. Security in this building is taken very seriously which I am thankful for because I don't have the constant worry of my belongings getting stolen without the record of that person being in the building. I'll be honest, my roommate and myself do not lock our door as often as we should but with the security measures that are taken I do not worry when I forget to lock it. Also, at night we don't lock the door but I can still sleep soundly because any guest has to be checked in as an overnight guest and will be on record if anything were to happen. To enter the building as a student one must swipe their One Card to unlock the front double doors, then they must also present their One Card to the front desk attendant at the time to continue on into the building. Students are allowed to bring guests into the building but check them in with the front desk attendant by showing the students One Card and showing them the guest's ID. Guests of the same sex are allowed to stay over night any of the day of the week but on the weekends any guest can come and go because there is 24 hour guest check in Friday through Sunday. The check in process is the same any day of the week and students must make sure to check out their guests anytime they leave the building and must check them back in if they come back.

       For first year students, like myself, that are in the transition process into college this building and community is a very helpful place. I live on the Graham side of the building so I will talk in detail about what it includes. With in the Graham hall there is a classroom with a printer/scanner which makes printing out assignments in a hurry extremely helpful, a free laundry room on the first floor, a kitchen with appliances you can use, and an ice machine. Not only are the ameniites for the building great but the staff is very helpful with any issue a student come across. Each floor has a Resident Assistant that lives on the floor with the students and makes everyone feel at home whenever they can. Specifically to my floor, my RA Megan hosted a spaghetti dinner one night which I really appreciated after eating Wagner for so many meals!

Check out this video to see more:
http://youtu.be/VvtG_2uKFKE

4. Campus Commons Pond

      After leaving Graham and also finishing all my morning classes the campus commons is my next favorite destination to get my homework done for the day. The campus commons of UNCW has three pond-drainage areas that, to myself, make the area very pleasing to the eye. As you can see below, the ponds are all relatively close to each other so if someone is sitting around one of the ponds they may be able to see the other two at the same time. There is one pond in front of the amphitheater, one pond in front of the bell tower, and one beside Chancellor's Walk.

         All of the ponds have fountains in the middle of them which make it look very nice. These ponds were added to be visually pleasing but also for a purpose other than relaxing by them. As most know who live here, when it rains it pours in Wilmington and the campus has issues with flooding. To help with the flooding issue around the campus commons these ponds were added for drainage purposes. From what I have experienced they do seem to help because I have not seen excessive flooding on this part of campus where other areas I have seen and walked through such flooding.

     






          For myself, the pond in front of the bell tower is my perfect relaxation spot to either nap or more importantly do homework while enjoying the outdoors. I have an ENO, a portable hammock (pictured above), which easily attaches to two trees in front of this pond. On sunny days, the ones I prefer to go out on, the trees around the pond give just enough shade not to be sweating over your homework. If I do not have a lot of homework that day, I can lay back and take a nap usually without the worry of anyone bothering me or my belongings because for myself the campus feels like a safe place. The campus police or at least an emergency box is in close proximity whenever one may need it.

3. Rock Climbing Wall

       Housed inside the newly expanded Student Recreation Center is my favorite place to work out and go to after all the relaxation time, the Climbing Wall. Once swiped into the 20,000 sq. ft. on campus fitness space, walking to the right of the building a student or guest would be able to see the huge climbing area. The wall stands approximately 28 feet high and can be seen from the first and second level of the gym. An individual who is running on the track upstairs may even be able to have a conversation with a climber almost to the top!

         The Climbing Wall has routes that vary in difficulty, it is ideal for those individuals who are trying it for their first time but it is still a great wall for those who are ready to try to make it over the difficult overhang. For a student climbing on the wall, it is a free experience and all equipment needed can be signed out at the desk located inside the climbing area. Any individual that is climbing will need a belayer, which is the person on the ground attached to the climber's ropes. For the UNCW Climbing Wall the belayer will need to be belayed certified with UNCW, having certification elsewhere is acknowledged for experience but this specific wall requires the belayer to know it's specific procedures which means they must take the course through UNCW's Seahawk Adventures. I have taken this course and it is simply a 2 hours class, which I took on a Saturday, where I learned the rules of the wall and how to safely tie the correct knots and belayer the climber. Once the course is completed one must wait 24 hours and then go take a test on what they learned by showing a Climbing Wall employee the correct execution. I did this with my boyfriend last weekend and now I can go in and belay any student or guest who wants to climb. For a guest to climb, they have to pay the $5.00 recreation center fee but they also have access to all the equipment for free.

2. Lumina Theater

      On any night, for entertainment, I can often be found at this location with friends. Lumina Theater, the on campus movie theater open to all students and the public, is located in the Fisher Student Center. The entrance of the theater is located beside Sharky's Box Office. At the box office students or guests can acquire tickets and concessions. During the weeknights, tickets for showings are free of charge for the student body and non-students. While for weekend showings, tickets can be purchased by students for two dollars on Friday nights, and only one dollar on Saturday. Non-Student viewers are charged $4.00 all weekend. The theater seats 333 individuals, including spaces reserved for handicapped views, ensuring a pleasurable viewing experience for any whom wish to attend!

         On the wall besides Sharky's box office, shown above, are advertisements for the upcoming shows being played for the week. The Association for Campus Entertainment hosts and plans the showings in the Lumina Theater over the weekends and features great titles, such as: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 22 Jump Street, and Beetlejuice, which was recently shown during a festive mini-marathon over Halloween weekend.

        Lumina Theater became a special location on the UNCW campus to myself recently when a short film, which I was the cinematographer for, was featured on the big screen. I had been part of making the short film, Sharp Chameleons, for a film competition within the film club on campus, known as The Flicker Film Society. Flicker co-sponsored a free Wednesday movie night presenting Monty Python and the Holy Grail where they were allotted a short amount of preview time before the film was screened. Sharp Chameleons ended up winning the film contest hosted by Flicker and as the prize the film was presented at Lumina Theater during that preview time! I went to the showing and was extremely happy with the positive feedback we received from the audience.