Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: Other Stories

Media Credit: Kathryn Hicks

For the first time in three years, four months and 11 days, The University of Memphis will have an operational University Center on Monday, March 15 at 10 a.m. The UC will be "UnloCked" for a party that evening from 6 to 10.

Presented by Student Activities Council, UnloCked is a four-hour event that will showcase the UC's facilities. Students will be invited into the campus' newest building for an evening of music, entertainment and free food.

"It's just going to be a ton of fun," said Laura Hoffman, assistant coordinator of student affairs at The U of M. "This is an event to show off our new space."

Hoffman said plans for UnloCked have been "in the works" since October. The event will feature live music, including performances by U of M's own student group Soundfuzion and '80s dance cover band Rockasaurus Rex. There will also be laser tag, a living statue, a comedy show, a magic show and a Wii console.

"It's going to be all over the building," Hoffman said. "The ballroom, the theater, the River Room, the lobby, the Alumni Mall Lounge - we want students to come."

Kyndra Outlaw - junior merchandising and home furnishings major, and president of Student Activities Council - said she urges every student to come check out the UC during UnloCked.

"Students should come to UnloCked because this is the start of a new beginning in the building," she said in an e-mail. "I am sure there is an event for everyone to enjoy."

Aside from the myriad of entertainment provided, offices and meeting rooms will also be open for students to explore during the event.

Many student involvement groups, like SAC, are still in the process of moving from Wilder Tower into their new offices in the UC.

Junior communications major Staci Thomasson said she plans to attend not only to see Rockasaurus Rex but also to get a look at the UC.

"I'm excited to see the finished product," she said. "It's a vital part of campus life, and everybody's going to use it."

Matt Tubinis, a 2008 graduate of The U of M, will be attending UnloCked as well. Tubinis began attending Memphis in fall 2004 and said he noticed a stark difference between The U of M's old UC and those on other college campuses.

"At a lot places around here, it's like a focal point of the university," he said. "The UC can offer lots of extracurricular space and rooms for meetings, but ours was never like that to me."

He said he's excited about what The U of M has done with the new UC.

"It's nice to see that they're rejuvenating campus," he said. "That's the new heart, a new centerpiece for The University."

Hoffman stressed that the UC is for the students, and everyone should take advantage of its facilities and come to UnloCked.

"This is really going to be the place to be for the next however-many years to come," she said. "It would be silly not to come and check it out. It's your new home."

Outlaw said SAC wants "to bring life and activities for the students" to the campus' newest addition, and UnloCked is just the beginning.

"The UC will bring about a new mindset for the campus," she said. "This building is THE place to be."

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