The first thing many students may have said when they found out about the plans to renovate the Rhatigan Student Center was, “But why?”

To a lot of students, the RSC was in no dire need for a renovation of any sort.

“I think it was perfectly fine the way it was before. But there were certain things that needed to be addressed,” sophomore Elizabeth Weinacht said.

The renovation began, and the RSC saw several changes, including the temporary loss of the wRECk Center. 

Roughly a year after the construction began on the North section of the RSC, the renovated wing of the RSC has been turning quite some heads since it opened on May 30. 

The renovated section features more room than the RSC had before, and though the extensive use of glass makes it less cozy than it seemed prior to the renovation, the abundance of light it draws in makes for a fresh change.

“It’s brighter. It’s livelier,” said Nathan Aung, a senior at the WSU College of Liberal Arts. “I think it will bring back campus life and (increase) student interaction.”

The east patio area including the stairwell and elevators is now closed in order to continue the next phase of the renovation. 

Students will instead use the stairwell on the building’s west side to access the second floor. 

Additionally, the previously out-of-commission elevator on the west side will now be accessible to the public.

The projected date for the completion of renovation work is July 2014.

With work beginning on the South end of the RSC, all offices on the South end with the exception of the bookstore, will tentatively be moved to the North end starting of the building on Aug. 12.

The food court will resume operating regularly by Aug. 14. The renovated wRECk Center and bowling lanes will reopen on Sept. 3.

The WSU bookstore will relocate to the second floor, according to RSC senior administrative assistant Megan Lab. She said they plan on returning to the lower level Jan. 10, 2014.

There has been speculation that business for the bookstore may have suffered due to the renovation.

“Our web sales are up. Honestly we haven’t seen as much of a drop in our traffic,” said Andi Stipp, the bookstore’s assistant director. “We have been pretty steady as the year’s gone through.”

Due to the inconveniences from relocation and the renovation, the WSU bookstore will allow students to ship their books free of charge if students pick the books up at the RSC store or the South or West campus. For other areas, students will be charged a standard UPS ground-shipping rate.

The multi-million dollar project may have been doubted or even scoffed at times. However, today is a win for the Rhatigan Renewal project.