Rider adds kiosk, among campus renovations
By Zyheim Bell
As students returned to campus for the fall 2025 semester, they were met with new additions to the campus along with other general renovations and relocations intended to enhance the Rider experience.
A noticeable addition to the campus are information kiosks located in front of the Student Recreation Center, Sweigart Hall and the Bart Luedeke Center.
The kiosks serve as an emergency alerting system, a map of campus and a place for student organizations to advertise and promote their events, according to the Student Government Association President Moira Geiger.
The kiosks were a direct response to student safety concerns, designed to be accessible to everyone on campus and not just students and staff.
Additionally, a patio outside of P.J. Ciambelli Hall was created to provide students with a new area for outside sitting and recreation, equipped with a raised platform that serves as an outdoor stage.
“The space is bookable on 25Live for students to host events,” said Geiger.
Geiger said she was “excited” for more opportunities of outside performances within the arts programs.
One intended improvement that did not make the cut was the outside basketball courts. According to Geiger, finding a place that made sense for code and zoning laws while also making sure the courts remained accessible and out of residential areas created difficulties.
The funding for the basketball courts have now gone into repurposing the Community Assistant Area Office situated behind Switlik Hall into a 24/7 lounge, according to Vice President of University Operations Mike Reca.
The new lounge space will come equipped with vending machines that serve different types of “real” food, and will be swipe card accessible to residents once finished, stated Reca.
“So you’ll be able to go at like 2 o’clock in the morning and get a burrito or they’re going to have White Castle hamburgers in there.” Reca said.
The basketball court funds also went toward improving campus security, according to Reca.
Security cameras in the C/Z/R lot have been replaced, while additional security cameras were added to the trolley easement between Canastra Hall and the Ben Cohen Field, around the new patio and new lounge.
General campus improvements undertaken by Reca include repaving roadways and parking areas and maintenance of sidewalks, which included fixing areas that presented safety and accessibility concerns.
“We walk around with SGA twice a year and kind of pick the areas that we feel like there could be accessibility issues,” Reca said.
Repaving was done from Route 206 toward the security booth, as well as the area in front of Poyda Hall and other areas around the campus. Maintenance also included restriping fire lanes, handicap spaces and a large portion of the BLC parking lot.
Another improvement that students can note along with sidewalks is a new paved addition to the front of the SRC. “I put a little patio out here because we have so many tabling events now,” Reca said.
Through a partial grant provided by the Public Service Enterprise Group 7,500 light fixtures were replaced on the campus.
Notably, lights within Alumni Gym have been switched to energy efficient LEDs with dimmable capabilities reducing the previous electrical buzz, according to Reca.
A new video board and score tables have also been added to Alumni Gym.
Multiple office spaces were relocated over summer break. Students can now find the Financial Aid office and One Stop within the Residence Life Office on the first floor of the BLC. Student Affairs, who formerly shared the office space with Residence Life has now been relocated to the second floor of the SRC.
“We moved to create a true one stop in the BLC on the middle floor,” Reca said.
Auxiliary Services has also been relocated, according to Reca, as the offices can be found within the General Services building.
