Joe Greene Hall: A Step Towards Innovation in UNT Housing
Joe Greene Hall is well underway on campus as the outside of the building construction is almost complete. The residence hall is scheduled to be open for the Fall 2019 semester and is expected to offer the most advanced student living opportunity to students on campus.
UNT Housing took initiative to make sure that with the new residence hall the department was not just matching the quality of living provided by other dorms, but improving on them.
“I think, and a lot of other people involved in the project really feel that it’s a good opportunity to meet current student needs as opposed to adapting an older building to try to keep up with the times,” said James Fairchild, Associate Director of UNT Housing
Students on campus have been intrigued to see how the finished dorm will turn out, while many students I talked to don’t intend to live there as they finish out their schooling, they still love to see UNT expanding and building to improve.
“I stayed in Clark my first year on campus and I had a good time but it definitely isn’t new I would say, but seeing UNT making a new hall that is supposed to be innovating, I mean it’s pretty dope,” said Connor Lofdahl, a junior at UNT.
Construction crews have been hard at work for just under a year now, upon visiting I could see that they have started off well but they are planning to really start progressing through the building in the next coming weeks. I took a tour with Fairchild around the under construction residence hall in the video below to see just what was in store for its future residents.
The Residence Hall is expected to offer 500 new beds to students on campus which with a growing student population is huge for helping with cut down on students who aren’t able to receiving housing on campus.
“We’ve had pretty high demand and we had a waitlist and at the end of that waitlist right as the fall semester starts we’ve had to unfortunately turn people away that we wouldn’t be able to accommodate with a space so this should definitely help with that,” said Fairchild.
While the 500 new spots will certainly help, Fairchild said it likely wouldn’t end the waitlist on campus but the new numbers of spots certainly helps. Students on campus certainly know the stress of having to be on waitlist when it comes to UNT Housing. Cody Norton, a junior RA at UNT, struggled to find housing last year because of a miscommunication in payment between him and UNT Housing.
“I was told my payment didn’t go through despite getting a receipt, so being late on payment I didn’t get my dorm room assigned until a week before the semester started because I was on such a long waiting list,” he said.
While the University is excited to offer more sleeping space on campus, they also put a major focus on the student experience outside of the dorm. The dorm will feature, such as pod style bathrooms, recreation and lounge areas, and rooms for both art and music. Residential assistants on campus have been told that the RA staff will be divided bringing in half rookies and half experienced workers.
“I think it’s a move to match the new dorm, you don’t want to have this brand new facility at the school to be filled with only people who already have experience because you get a chance to bring new people, opportunity, and ideas into the new residence hall, which I think is great for everyone involved,” said Norton.
Greene Hall will offer double occupancy rooms to undergraduate students who plan to live on campus which is also offered at several other dorms seen below. However, this dorm is set to put a focus on giving students a chance to be at their dorm without hanging out in their rooms, this was a key point that Fairchild believes can bring more enjoyment out of the student and on-campus experience.
The decision to name the residence hall after North Texas football legend Joe Greene was passed last May after being proposed by UNT President, Neal Smatresk. There was originally a petition going around campus created by the UNT Student Governor Association’s Senator, Misaki Collins. The move for Joe Greene to have the residence hall named after him was mostly cited for the fact that no halls on campus represent a person of color, the impact and legacy of Joe Greene was believed to be well deserving of putting an end to that statistic.
Joe Greene, who attended UNT, was considered by many to be the most talented football player to ever play for the University and went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL as a member of the famously coined “Steel Curtain” (which many consider to be the most dominant defensive line in NFL history) where he was a 10 time pro bowler and later elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1987. Greene was also inducted into the UNT athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. However, Greene’s impact goes much further than the football field, hosting scholarship fundraisers for UNT students, and has now set up the Agnes Lucille Craft Green Memorial Scholarship to pay tribute to his wife, the scholarship is annually reward to students who have parents who battle or have battled cancer.
“Mean Joe Greene had a huge impact on the university and he continues to have a lasting legacy and relationship with a lot of players and coaches and even the Athletic Director, Wren Baker. He is without a doubt the best player in North Texas’ history and it was awesome to see the school honor him,” said Matthew Brune, a UNT Athletics writer for the NTDaily and 247Sports.
Fairchild said he would love to get Joe Greene at the ribbon cutting ceremony and hopes everyone who attends can have a glass bottle of coke and a Steeler jersey on to pay tribute, but understands that it may be a little far-fetched.
