Situated on the corner of Randolph Street and Beech Street is Longwood University’s Hardy House. The top half of the building is used by the Conferences and Event Services, who manage on-campus events. The basement hosts the advanced computing lab below ground in the basement amongst hanging Ethernet cords, leaky air conditioning systems and 25 computer monitors of the Computer Science program.
According to the Farmville-Prince Edward Historical Society, the building, originally called the Berkeley-Hardy House, was constructed in 1840 and had been previously owned by a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate States Army and a doctor who used it for an operating room and office.
In 2008, Longwood acquired the house to be used for the Conferences and Scheduling department, which had just expanded and needed more space, according to Director of Conferences and Event Services Darlene Bratcher.
In the summer of 2008, the Computer Science program was given the basement to use as a space for a computer lab.
According to Dr. Robert Marmorstein, associate professor of Computer Science, this move was initially a huge improvement for the program, which previously shared a lab with the Registrar’s office, and students were unable to access the building after 5:00 pm. However, over the next few years, the program’s enrollment gradually grew until it reached its current number of 76 students.
Currently, the lab is only equipped for 25 people at once which became a problem for the current 76 students. According to Marmorstein, it’s difficult to have an entire class in the space and also provide space for any other students who need to work on their projects outside of class.
The lab is split into four rooms, separated by walls, as the basement was originally designed as an apartment which included a kitchen, bathroom and four rooms to be used as living space.
“The way the lab is setup now, since it was the basement of a house and split into rooms that is inadequate for a classroom-type environment because the professor has to walk between rooms, and not everybody can hear the conversation that is going on. It breaks up the classroom aspect of it, which makes it harder to learn,” said Longwood senior and Computer Science major Hunter Plumley.
Without the ability to use the building as a proper classroom, the students are forced to learn outside of the lab without any hands-on practice until a project comes up. This becomes a problem when students attempt to actually write code.
“When it comes down to projects, we don’t get that experience of actually doing it in the classroom since we’re just listening to a lecture (in the classrooms in Ruffner), and that causes a lot of confusion and makes the projects a lot harder,” said Plumley.
According to Marmorstein, the small size of the individual rooms in the house also prevents the program from mounting a projector or whiteboard onto the ceiling or walls because there isn’t enough space for them. Currently, they have a freestanding whiteboard but, according to Plumley, the lack of a projector is a hindrance to the students’ abilities to work on their projects.
The building also lacks ports in the walls for wires, which according to Marmorstein, they are unable to install due to lack of funds in the department’s budget.
Instead, they hang all of the wires they use from holes in a drop ceiling. The loose wires have been known to snag on items or trip students while working in the lab, creating a possible hazardous working environment.
“Given the age of it, it gets hot really quickly because there’s not any real air conditioning down there. The rooms are very small and cramped. It has really poor lighting. It’s just a very uncomfortable place to work,” said Eric Whitehead, a Longwood senior and Computer Science major.
The Director of Physical Plant, Ben Myers, stated that Facilities Management was unaware of these issues, but said that the databases could be searched to see if any work orders were filed.
According to Marmorstein, the leaking air conditioners have damaged equipment as well.
“From time to time, the drains back up, and we get water on the floor. We have to keep the systems off of the floor, just in case. The air conditioners frequently leak. The air conditioner backs up, and water will actually pour out of the air conditioners onto some of our equipment. That’s happened at least twice,” said Marmorstein.
The Mathematics and Computer Science department and Real Property departments have acknowledged the problem and begun plans of possibly moving the lab on campus, according to Dr. David Shoenthal, the department chair of Longwood’s Mathematics and Computer Science department.
“It would be a much more conducive environment for a lab than the way the Hardy House is configured right now,” said Shoenthal.
According to Shoenthal, the possibility of the lab being moved has currently been put on hold with Longwood’s need to use all resources in preparation for the vice presidential debate in October.
