Recent updates to Wayne State College’s Student Center and the fourth floor of Humanities have been all about boosting Wildcat pride.

Over the summer, WSC’s campus saw a variety of remodeling and renovation projects.

Those updates are looking to change the study habits and social lives of upperclassmen and underclassmen alike.

In the Kanter Student Center, students were consulted on everything from the tile on the walls to the furniture.

Tiffany Dearstone, Director of Student Activities and the Student Center said it’s all about letting the building live up to its name.

“Just trying to get student traffic back into the building and having a place where students feel comfortable is probably the biggest motivator to updating the facility,” Dearstone said.

That mission is enjoying early success with the updated tables and chairs already seeing heavy use in just the first week of classes.

Wildcat opinions aren’t the only new addition to the Student Center; the faces of Wildcats adorn banners lining the main walk under the atrium.

One of those faces is that of Jeremiah Woods, a communications major who works at the info desk in the Student Center.

“My banner was actually a surprise to me,” Woods said. “That picture was taken by Isaac Baker, my best friend, and he was just testing his camera with that picture actually.”

The banners will rotate every few years to stay current with the flow of faces around campus.

The fourth floor of Humanities, home to WSC’s broadcast studios, welcomed its own updates. Since first moving from the Peterson Fine Arts building to Humanities in 2003 on a limited budget, the department has been continuously looking for ways to make things look uniform.

Early on, media majors were almost embarrassed that their classes were in the ‘attic’ of Humanities. Over time, students embraced this identity and named their production company “Hot Attic Films.”

Part of embracing that identity is the industrial-influenced paint scheme now sported on the fourth floor.

In addition to the fresh new look, the remodeling also focused on showcasing student work.

Right off the elevator there is a kiosk displaying student projects and a hallway lined with posters from student-made films.

Dr. Mike White, associate professor of mass communication, said that while student media at the college has been a bit of a secret in the past, the future is looking to be another story.

“We are now consciously marketing the electronic media facility . . . because we have new branding and our growth has been so good we want to continue with that,” White said.

For Yasuko Taoka, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, the renovations are a way of giving back to communications students whose second home is on the fourth floor.

“There was student pride in the area but we also wanted to give them a space that was worthy of the time that they put in there . . . a place that they could feel proud of and a place that they could be proud of bringing their parents, family and friends up to and show them where they spend all their time,” Taoka said.

As for cost, the cosmetic updates to Humanities got creative with $7,483.56. Per expense, those numbers break down to $2,841.00 on flooring, $1,012.56 on restroom partitions and $3,630.00 on painting.

As for the Student Center, they are currently under a budget of $230,000 and looking for outstanding projects to complete.