Pimp My Basement: A Fresh Look in the AMC
By ELINA MRAZ ‘21
In previous years, the AMC basement was filled with plain, grey classrooms furnished with uninspired tables and chairs. Now, however, there are bright new classrooms, a viewing room with a flat screen TV, a green screen room for filming, and a classroom fitted with 12 new iMacs. These rooms have been updated to be more useful to the various computer science, robotics, and film classes.
In the past there had only been two classrooms available for computer science classes, but with the new additions three classrooms and even a lounge are available. These classrooms have smart boards and three walls of whiteboard space which provide a huge help to students when trying to sketch out their ideas and explain them to one another. Charlotte Moremen ‘19, who is a co-head of the Programming Club, adds that, “all three of the classrooms have natural light as well, which serves as a good reminder for us coders that sometimes we need to leave the basement of the AMC and get outside”
In addition to holding classes, the new lounges are also used as spaces for coders to meet, help one another, or to take a nap after a long night or day. In addition, clubs like programming club meet there; the new couches and comfortable chairs establish a more relaxed and comfortable student meeting space . Alex Rodriguez ‘20, another Programming Club co-head, adds his perspective, claiming that, “While the new lounge has not brought as many new people into the computer science community as I had wanted, it has brought the old members much closer together. Since its at the bottom of the AMC, the only people who come to the computer science lounge are the programming students who already know it’s there… Since [the space] is kind of secluded, it doesn't do as good a job of introducing new students into the community as I was hoping our having own space would. We all spend a lot more time in the lounge programming, napping, or just doing homework.” The increased in interest in programming classes might be one reason why Milton has decided to put forth these renovations.
In addition to new computer science classrooms and lounges there is also a new robotics lab. The old lab was split into two small rooms, but with the renovations, one of the walls was knocked down to create one large room. Avery Miller ‘20, co-captain of the Robotics Team, says that she is “super excited for the new robotics lab as it has already proven to be a fantastic space for robotics as well as a great way to attract new members to the club!” So far, according to Avery, the new robotics lab has been a great success and the robotics club has found that the new space allows for the ability to collaborate more freely.
Christy Zheng ’19, who is also co-captain of Robotics, added, “I'm so thankful for these renovations because it makes the basement of the AMC more pleasant and a place students would actually want to hang out in during their free time. Also, it shows that the school cares about the programming department and programming is a growing. When I was a freshman, we didn't have Programming 2/3 or the Engineering and Design course, so it makes me happy to see this department expanding.” Coding students appreciate the additions to the computer science department, as they demonstrate a promising sign of the school’s renewed commitment to support S.T.E.M students. So, if you have a free period or an open activities period, stop by the AMC to learn something new, take a nap, or meet up with students with similar interests as you.
