Squires Student Center celebrates 75 years with open house, prizes Jan. 30
Virginia Tech’s Squires Student Center will celebrate its 75th anniversary and its first year as part of the new Student Centers and Activities with a special presentation, refreshments, and open house from 1-3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30.
The event, which will also feature games, prizes, and giveaways, is free and open to the public.
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Guy Sims along with various Student Centers and Activities staff will open the celebration at 1 p.m. with a presentation in Squires’ Haymarket Theater focusing on the theme, “Coming Together, Moving Forward.” The department, formerly called University Unions and Student Activities, is marking its first anniversary along with Squires’ celebration.
The celebration will move to Squires’ Old Dominion Ballroom from 1:30-3 p.m. with a reception and open house, fun and games, and the chance to take pictures with the HokieBird. Students can also compete in a scavenger hunt the week prior to the event, with the winners receiving footballs and basketballs donated by University Bookstore and signed by coaches Frank Beamer and Seth Greenberg, respectively. Information on how to participate in the scavenger hunt can be found on the Student Centers and Activities website.
Radio station K92 will also be on hand with music, and Freedom First Credit Union will sponsor an ice cream truck. Other giveaways include photo frames and microfiber cloths for computer screens and mobile phones.
Squires Student Center first opened in 1937 and was originally called the Student Activities Building. It was funded largely through New Deal programs created by then-President Franklin Roosevelt. The student center was renamed Squires Hall in 1941, and Squires Student Center in 1970. Throughout the years it has grown to include nearly 250,000 square feet of space, including theaters, a food court, a recital salon, an atrium, student media offices and organizations, and music faculty offices.
With a visitor’s pass, parking is available in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Street or the Architecture Annex Lot also on Otey Street. Parking meters within the Squires Lot will need to be paid. A visitor’s pass may be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Visitor Information Center, located at 965 Prices Fork Road, near the intersection of Prices Fork and University City Boulevard next to the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. A visitor’s pass may also be obtained from the Virginia Tech Police Station, located on Sterrett Drive, outside of the Visitor Information Center hours.
Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200.
Written by Jennifer Gibson.
