According to Associate Director for Communications and Outreach of LiveOn Bethany Balks, the renovations will also cover life safety updates funded by the RHS, including a new fire suppression system, a fire alarm system replacement and emergency lighting.

Political science freshman Jonah Kibin said he is not happy with the new renovation plans and their focus on Wilson Hall as an LLC rather than a residence hall. 

To raise awareness, Kibin turned to Reddit to spread the word. In his post, Kibin wrote that “Wilson Hall as it exists today only functions as a unit of the engineering department … where we’re basically just the decrepit janitor’s closet of South Neighborhood.”

Kibin said he noticed differences between Wilson Hall and other residence halls almost immediately. He pointed to the lack of amenities such as a Sparty’s Express, Grubhub pickup, common rooms and facilities like the cardio room and movie theater. Kibin also mentioned the building’s generally rundown condition, particularly on the first floor, where he noted broken signage and peeling paneling.

Freshman mechanical engineer Gavin Tuskal agreed that Wilson was rundown on the first floor, and also noticed the lack of a Sparty's, adding that if you're in any of the engineering programs, you're almost guaranteed to live in Wilson as a first year.

“It's a good place to meet people. Other than that, actually living here, I would rather live in Wonders or Holden, I don’t think [Wilson] holds up to the standards of other halls on campus,” said Tuskal.

With 27 residence halls across five neighborhoods, RHS said they look at services and amenities at the neighborhood level to ensure consistency. For Wilson Hall, Balks said RHS points to Case Hall’s dining options and the multiple retail and recreational facilities available in the other South Neighborhood halls.

“I’ve always found Wilson to be lackluster compared to every other dorm,” said freshman Mechanical engineer Nicholas Piyawattanametha. “Especially since they closed that middle room in the intersection. Nobody ever talks about anything or whatnot; there's nothing here.”

The “middle room” Piyawattanametha described is The Center, which MSU LiveOn describes as a dynamic “idea laboratory” classroom. However, the space now often sits dark and locked, preventing engineering students and other Wilson Hall residents from using it.

Because many aspects of Wilson Hall fall under the College of Engineering rather than RHS, communication can fall through. Kibin said he spoke with the vice president of the Residence and Housing Society and an Eat at State communications manager, who he said sympathized with his concerns but told him there was little they could do.

“I feel like the engineering department has kind of been taking away from the residential experience, the problem is they oversee most of the building and all its facilities,” said Kibin.

When asked for a comment on the matter, John Papaolymerou, the interim dean of the College of Engineering, said, “The College of Engineering looks forward to working hand-in-hand with RHS to convert the former Wilson Hall dining space into Technology Engineering Learning Labs. Bringing life and vibrancy back into a space that has been closed since August 2020.”

But students like Kibin said they want more collaboration between residence facilities and the LLC, and he hopes students have a voice in future discussions, particularly as he works to revive the student government in Wilson Hall.

“I mean it doesn’t have to be Case Hall level, but it has to be to a certain standard where someone can walk in this building [as a whole] and say ‘Hey, this building is on standard with all the other three buildings in South Campus," said Kibin.