The Student Engagement office and Student Government Association began moving into their new offices in the Guillot University Center April 8.

With the on-campus bookstore relocating to the Commons last year, the leftover space opened an opportunity for a larger and more welcoming environment for students, said Director of Student Engagement Tyler Thompson.

“We don’t have space (in the old office) for students to do a lot of things they need to for their organizations,” Thompson said. “We don’t have the good meeting space for student groups and leaders if they need to talk about something in confidence.

“Now, we’ll have the ability to provide more support, provide more resources and store some more things groups need to use for their events.”

Thompson said the move benefits SGA with a convenient one-stop meeting area, as opposed to holding meetings in GUC room 200.

“SGA is going to basically be consolidating instead of being all around the (GUC) and constantly taking up room 200 where other people can’t (use it),” he said. “Anybody who is trying to schedule stuff right now knows that meeting space is at a premium and hard to find, so that’s going to help a lot.”

The groups will attempt to settle in starting now through the summer. Student Engagement plans to hold an open house next fall, Thompson said.

Having a more student-friendly resource space will be beneficial for RSO’s, said senior Kayla Land, a worker in the current Student Engagement Office.

“This will be more or less just a big student center, unlike the other office,” Land said. “It kind of seemed dark, and students were working in the back closet. All of the interaction is going to be front-and-center.”

Land said she thinks the more modern look will appeal to students.

“Students will see the big, giant windows and will want to walk straight in,” she said. “It’s going to be open, it’s going to be inviting, it’s going to be a place where students can hang out and get stuff done for their RSO’s.”

With a convenient location near a plethora of student traffic, the SGA meetings should be easier for students to find in their section of the office, said Secretary-elect Jessica McAlister.

“When people walk by on a Monday or Thursday at 3:30 (p.m.), they can see what’s happening in there and know it’s the SGA office,” she said. “Hopefully, it will present a more welcoming environment for students to come to our meetings.”