Geology Club ready for change

With a growing university comes change. Part of that change includes saying goodbye to the old and hello to new beginnings.

The Geology Club at UTRGV has been preparing to say goodbye to the place they call home, the west wing of the Physical Science building on the Edinburg campus, as it is scheduled to be demolished in late January or early February 2017.

Geology students and faculty have spent the last month moving their belongings, including rocks, minerals and fossils that were on display in glass cases in the Physical Science Building, into portable storage buildings on campus.

Environmental science sophomore John Villarreal, who also serves as secretary of the Geology Club, said the west wing of the Physical Science Building is a place where he spends most of his time on campus and is sad to see it go.

“It’s been a little sad,” Villarreal said. “This is where I come to hang out with my friends, this is where I eat my lunch, this is where I come to relax; but at the same time, being able to have a bigger building that will have more classrooms and labs that will help the department grow. This university is growing and I’m excited to grow with them.”

The Geology Club goes on camping trips throughout the year to explore and gain valuable experience in being out in the field and exploring nature. The camping trips and time spent together has built a tight-knit relationship between the members of the club.

Anthropology senior Clara Miller, Geology Club treasurer, has been with club for five semesters and said the relationships and camaraderie built during her time with her peers has been a highlight of her college career.

“That’s been one of the most enjoyable things about the club; I’ve made a big group of friends,” said Miller, who is set to graduate this month. “It’s been really fun and very enjoyable.”

The building is not only home to physical sciences labs, classrooms and offices but hosts other classes as well.

Faculty and students who used to be in the Physics West Building will be relocated to portable buildings located behind the Engineering Building until the construction is completed. The current building was built in the 1970s and its facilities and technological resources are outdated, so the change will see an instant improvement in those areas.

Senior Geology Club historian Cruz Quintana Jr. said he will miss the west wing of the Physical Science Building but is keeping an open mind to the transition.

“It’s nostalgic in that this is where you lived; this was home,” Quintana said. “It’s sad to move and see home go away.”

But he noted that the west wing has constraints.

“For example, the men’s restroom is in another building, Quintana said. “That’s been a pain in the butt to go over there.”

Taking the west wing of the Physical Science Building’s place will be the Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building, with construction scheduled to begin in March 2017. The estimated completion date for this project is Nov. 18, according to Patrick Gonzales, assistant vice president for University Marketing and Communications.

The new Research and Science Building, which broke ground last fall, is expected to be ready in February 2018. Labs that were located in the Physical Science Building will move into the Science Research Building and some will move into the existing science building to bring the colleges and departments together.

“The biggest thing is that we’re going to be able to provide the most up to date building resources, labs, offices and classes will be more modernized so that’s really exciting for both our students and faculty,” Gonzales said. “They’ll have more modern technology. We’ll have all the science departments in the science building to better help organize our departments and our majors of these certain disciplines to be able to work together.”

No matter where you move the Geology Club, they will have no problem studying and practicing what they’re passionate about. Nick Morales, who has been associated with the Geology department and club since the early 1970s, when he took classes and used to work for UTPA as a lab assistant, said the change won’t stop the Geology Club.

“Geology is everywhere. You can’t get away from it. You can always study it,” Morales said.

For more information regarding the Geology Club at UTRGV, follow its Facebook page at UTRGV Geology Club.