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The 2^nd floor of Columbia’s 916 South Wabash building is home to one of the Interdisciplinary Arts department’s most wonderful resources, and it’s also my new place of work: the Equipment Center. I just started working there this last week and wanted to let you know why it’s great.

Why I love the Equipment Center, and why you can too!

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EQUIPMENT!

Current Interdisciplinary Arts students have access to thousands of dollars worth of equipment. If you have taken the required prerequisites, you have access to data projectors, DSLR cameras, HD cameras, speakers, video monitors, laptops, iPads, mac mini’s, field recorders, lighting kits, and more! Even if you have not taken the required class or workshop to check out a certain piece of equipment, I have found that the department is more then willing to help you get what you need. All you need to do is ask (at the Equipment Center).

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SPACE

Students also have access to some wonderful facilities through the Equipment Center such as, The Sound lab, The Raw Space, and the Installation lab. Time, as you’ve probably guessed, can be reserved at the EQ.

PEOPLE

The Equipment Center staff is available not only to check equipment out to you but also to help you with any technical concerns you may have. They are also just fun people to hang out with, so take advantage of that resource. Matt Harris, is the Technical Director for the Interdisciplinary Arts department and my new boss, has helped me on a number of occasions get the space and equipment I needed to finish a project. I’m looking forward to working with him more this year.

WHO CARES?

Why am I writing this? Why blog about the Equipment Center? Because it’s important for current students to be aware of the resources available to them, and the equipment center is, in many ways, the gateway to these resources. Students have access to thousands of dollars worth of equipment, as well as practice, rehearsal, and Installation space. It would be a shame not to take advantage of these assets while we are here. Come visit me at the Equipment Center, and I’ll hook you up with some great stuff!

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