There’s going to be a new hangout on the Gainesville campus.
In Monday’s Student Government Association meeting, representatives announced the approval of a hammock village similar to the one on the Blue Ridge campus. The motion was unanimously approved.
According to Christopher Hale, vice president of SGA on the Gainesville campus, there will be three to five hammocks between the volleyball court and the student center. He says there is a plan to build hammock villages on the Cumming, Oconee and Dahlonega campuses. Each village will cost about $30,000.
According to Hale, the hammock village will be a way for students to relax between classes.
Blue Ridge campus’s hammock village with students relaxing on hammocks. (@ungblueridge)
Another topic at the meeting was about a rock wall being installed.
Nicholas Klinge, assistant director of Campus Recreation and Wellness Programs, spoke to SGA about the possibility of a climbing wall or boulder on the Gainesville campus.
He says, “Our wall at Dahlonega . . . for a reference point . . . we have a bouldering cave which is about 12 feet long and about 8 feet tall. We also have three lanes of top roping . . . There’s three of those and our lanes are 33 feet tall.”
SGA representatives say they need a rock wall or boulder is necessary on the Gainesville student body.
Nathanael Hines, political science/pre-law major and SGA finance chair, says, “In my experience, we’re always trying to foster a sense of community here on campus and recently we’ve been getting more and more sports clubs. I think having a rock wall would also provide a community where you could have more, like students who like to be active participate more on campus.”
The biggest concern among representatives of SGA is the cost and location of the installation: $15,000 to $30,000 for a boulder cave and $100,000 for a top-roping course.
Hale suggested using the permanently closed swimming pool to allow for the height of a tall top-roping course.
Klinge also warned that the wall would take a lot of training and budget allocation. It would cost upward of $2,000 to $3,000 every year to train a group of 12 employees.
“UNG is, in outdoor pursuits in particular, we’re the only USG institution that brings in a third party to train our staff how to climb, how to belay, how to do all of those things,” Klinge says.
