On March 4th, alongside the Glow casino night hosted by UTM Flight Crew, students could enjoy playing a variety of video games during the soft opening of UTM’s new video game lounge, located in room 108 of the UC where the computer store was before it closed spring 2023. When the space officially opens on March 8, full-time students will be able to use their Skyhawk cards to access a wide range of consoles, including 2 PS5s, 6 new Alienware PCs and even an arcade table. The lounge will also act as a base of operations for UT Martin’s E-sport team, the Gamerhawks. The members of the Gamerhawks welcomed the construction of the new lounge, as it now means they can have their own space and move their base of operations out of the EPS building. According to John Abel, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, who also attended the soft opening, funding for the video game lounge came from a surplus in the student activities fund that built up during the pandemic. He also mentioned that the IT department made huge contributions through electrical wiring, setting up servers and making sure everything was connected to the internet. The lounge remained packed during the soft opening with students enjoying games ranging from the newest Mortal Kombat to classic PAC-Man, hopefully a good sign for the future of the lounge.
