“Morale just seems so low”
- Emily Mosier
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
Art, theatre and dance students adjust to ongoing
Malone Hall renovations, professors, students frustrated
Renovations have begun on Malone Hall's roof.
While renovations and repairs to Malone Hall remain ongoing, Troy University’s art, theatre and dance students are left navigating new obstacles and adjusting to unfamiliar spaces.
The renovations, worth over $1.5 million, aim to address serious health and safety concerns mainly caused by the dilapidated state of Malone Hall’s roof. For this semester, some students have been relocated into buildings such as Wright, Patterson and Long Hall.
Others remain in certain first-floor Malone classrooms unaffected by roof construction.
“Most of the art students I know have just become cynical at this point and just want to get out of there, but many of us are still requiring fine art classes traditionally held in Malone in order to graduate,” said Icie Wallace, a junior graphic design major from Sylacauga, Alabama. “It has definitely been a little crazy to walk into class trying to evade construction equipment that is currently being used.”
Jessica Wilcox, a junior studio art major from Brundidge, Alabama, said many of her classes had last-minute location changes the day before they began, leaving her confused.
Wright Hall now houses several classes for the departments of Theatre and Dance and Art and Design.
“When we left for break last semester, professors were telling us that we would not be in Malone . . . now that we've come back, all of a sudden, we’re just back in Malone because we've been told we have nowhere else to go,” Wilcox said. “Everyone is so confused; even professors are confused.”
“Honestly morale just seems so low this semester. Everyone seems fed up with being thrown around, but we are kind of at a loss for what else there is to do but just go along with it.”
Wilcox also noted it is frustrating to have classes in Malone while not being able to access all of the art supplies.
Jenna Kelley, a senior theatre major from Leeds, Alabama, said most of her classes had to be relocated.
“I think it is overall fine,” Kelley said. “It is possible to get to our classes on time still; parking is definitely more of a struggle now.
“The department just feels more disconnected, and our department is one that thrives on connectivity and community, so having a ‘hub’ of sorts helps with that a lot . . . between tech week(s), performances, classes and technical shops, scheduling has been difficult. Especially with how many moving pieces it takes to get the machine of this department going and keep it going.”
Kelley said the biggest challenge has been discovering how to best use the new spaces, such as by moving a show that would normally have been inside Malone Hall to the Trojan Center Theater – a change that complicates technical elements of the show and limits the performance’s scale.
Katherine Bozeman, a junior dance major from Goshen, Alabama, said the relocations have been both positive and negative. The changes have separated her from students studying other types of art but also allow her to get to know her dance peers in a healthier environment.
“Since the departments of art and design and theatre and dance are no longer next to each other, I am not exposed to the creative minds and kind people who I have grown to love,” Bozeman said. “Although severed from other types of artists, I have been able to connect and spend more time in better conditions in Wright Hall.
“Wright, though not a perfect solution, allows us to both literally and figuratively see the sun again.”
Despite these challenges, the displaced students all seem to agree that any temporary inconvenience caused by the repairs is necessary and ultimately for the better.
“I have seen the conditions in Malone make my friends and loved ones very sick and become progressively more ill,” Bozeman said. “I hate that the conditions of Malone were allowed to get to this point.”
“Troy University did not begin when I got here, and it won’t end when I leave,” Kelley said. “The issues with Malone are completely damaging the health of the students and faculty.
“It’s almost, if not absolutely, inhumane. I’m glad that the university is handling it now. However, it is simply unacceptable that it took this long.”
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