By Catherine Laroche
Every once in a while, students need a little time away from writing papers and studying for exams. That’s when they turn to the Cardinal Corner game room.
According to Assistant Director of Intramural Sports John Smith, the Cardinal Corner was used for breaks approximately 38,000 times last year.
“Participation has gone up,” Smith said. “So far this year, on a month-by-month basis we’ve been a little bit ahead of last year. It’s turned into a very, very popular place.”
The Cardinal Corner provides a television lounge, billiards, darts, foosball, table tennis and board games for University of Louisville students free of charge. Showing a U of L student I.D. grants students access to the game room.
“I think it’s great,” freshman mechanical engineering student Ryan Ray said. “It’s a place where everybody can hang out in between classes.”
The Cardinal Corner hasn’t always been the popular game room it is today. Just 11 years ago, the room was used for small cubicles for Recognized Student Organizations. The cubicles were just big enough to fit a desk and two chairs.
Former Student Government Association President Todd Schmeidler renovated the room into a game room after noticing the lack of student activity in the Student Activities Center. Until a couple years ago, there was a fee to use the equipment, but now SGA pays the annual fee that students would be charged for the services of the Cardinal Corner.
Smith said that students have adopted the television lounge as a room for video and computer-gaming. Junior computer information systems major Chris Brodt can be found at the Cardinal Corner on a regular basis.
“It gives you a chance to relax and get away from all the studying,” Brodt said. “I go to the library to study and then come here for a half hour or hour for a break. We’re all a big tight-knit group especially in the back room. Everybody knows each other, so it’s a nice place to socialize and relax.”
Although students enjoy using the Cardinal Corner, they still feel there is much room for improvement. Ray suggested more updated equipment such as new ping-pong tables or an air hockey table, while Brodt and the rest of the gamers are waiting for a bigger television.
“I know we’ve been promised a better television a couple weeks ago,” Brodt said. “But I still haven’t seen it. But other than that, I don’t know what else you could do to improve it. It’s pretty good the way it is.”
Compared to other in-state schools, a bigger television and updated equipment is the least of possibilities in improving the game room.
The University of Kentucky’s Cat’s Den hosts a number of entertainment options for UK students including bingo, comedy, concerts, tournaments, big screen television, foosball, pool, table tennis and arcade games.
Western Kentucky University’s Downing University Center is loaded with ways for WKU students to de-stress themselves. The Hilltopper students are provided with 12 bowling lanes, 20 billiard tables, table tennis, game tables, a dance floor, a lounge area with a wide-screen television and video arcade games.
However, WKU students are charged a fee of $2 an hour per person or $5 an hour per table to play billiards. If students want to bowl, they pay $1.50 a game per person and $.75 cents for shoes.
Although the Cardinal Corner may not have a bowling alley or arcade games, they are working on improving the game room in the future.
In January, National Trick Shot Champion and expert Tom Rossman, a.k.a. Dr. Cue, will be in town to host two shows in one day and then run an all day tournament for students to play him in pool at the Cardinal Corner. If a student can defeat Rossman, they will win a prize. Rossman has been featured on ESPN frequently. A date has yet to be set for this event.
The Cardinal game room is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
