The open campus of Bakersfield College makes it relatively easy to find your way around. But there are many parts of the campus that remain unexplored because of their location or for not having any real use.

One such spot is the Student Lounge, located inside the cafeteria near the coffee cart.

The lounge has been vacant and unused for some time. It has been given permission to reopen by a vote from the Student Government Association last semester.

The SGA got to work on the project of recreating the once popular area.

Thanks to Senate Bill 135, BC has been given a budget to help spruce up the Campus Center area. Focus points were the cafeteria, the cafÇ, the Fireside Room, the outside area, the Student Senate room and the Student Lounge.

With a budget around $300,000 dollars to work with, ideas swarmed the SGA on how to use the money. Each officer was given a specific area to focus on and come up with plans and proposals on how to improve that particular area.

“We don’t have enough money to do all areas at once,” said David Stenson, legislative liaison.

“We’re focusing on the Fireside Room, the Student Senate Room, the Student Lounge and the cafÇ.”

Stenson had to contact three different designers for the cafÇ and must present each one of their proposal ideas to the committee for the final decision.

He wanted to remodel the cafÇ so it would look like a European cafÇ complete with murals, new tiling, chairs and tables.

The Fireside and Student Senate room are under works to receive new equipment to help student clubs that hold their meetings and for guest speakers. The biggest projects, so far, have been the cafÇ and Student Lounge.

“Everything should hopefully be done by fall semester,” Stenson said. “One of the main things is getting a student to work in the lounge.”

The SGA has been in the works of putting in new computers, board games and has gotten in two video games for students to play. The room is also connected to a small conference room, and various ideas have been suggested for plans on how to use the room.

The majority of the work has been left up to the SGA, which had to get prices on every edition that was to be replaced. Price quotes for new chairs, lighting, computers and trashcans had to be researched for the best possible price.

While final decisions are being made, the SGA continues to work on using every dollar made available. Some members will even have to come in during their summer break to see that everything gets done correctly.

“There are strict guidelines that we have to follow,” Stenson said.

“I’m still waiting on one more proposal before moving forward with the project.”