The University Student Union and other locations at Fresno State received small but powerful new accessories this summer.
The newest additions to the USU are cell phone charging stations mounted on the walls.
“The Student Union Board is always looking for new ways to help the students,” said USU associate director, Mehrzad Zarrin. “Last semester it was the hydration stations where you can refill your water bottles with filtered water. This semester it’s new furniture in the lounge and charging stations.”
The cell phone charging stations were purchased through a company called KwikBoost. It has supplied similar stations to other universities including Cal Poly, CSU Northridge, UC Davis and CSU San Francisco.
There are a total of 11 charging stations on campus, three of which are in the USU. One is located in the lounge, the other two in the area of the bowling alley and eating area. Additional locations include the Kennel Bookstore, the Student Recreation Center, the dorms, and the resident dining hall.
Each facility paid for its own charging stations. The three charging stations cost the USU a total of $1,037 and were paid for with student fees.
The charging stations can be used for iPhone 4S and prior editions, an iPhone 5 charger, or “lightning charger” as KwikBoost calls it, a micro USB and a mini-USB charger.
“The chargers should accommodate for the majority of phones made after the year 2000. It even can charge the Razr cell phones,” Zarrin said.
Freshman Chuy Valarde was excited to see the chargers after his phone died.
“This is my first time using the phone chargers in the USU. I’m glad they’re here or I would have to have had to wait until I got home to have my phone,” Valarde said.
Of all the places where there are charging stations on campus, the Henry Madden Library is not one of them.
Circulation student assistant Elizabeth Hernandez believes it would be beneficial to have cell phone charging stations in the library to accommodate everyone.
“I’ve had at least four people this semester ask the circulation desk if they can use the iPad and Android tablet chargers to charge their phones. I think the charging stations in the library would do really well in a social area like Starbucks,” Hernandez said.
The library has anywhere from 8,000-9,500 people pass through its doors a day, said Associate Dean of Library Services David Tyckoson. He said he wants to take his time when deciding whether or not to add them in the library.
“The charging stations are a fairly new addition to the USU,” Tyckoson said. “We want to see how they work out before we make a decision. However, if you have your power cord, you can charge your device all around the library using the powered tables.”
As the USU is one of the first on campus to begin using the charging stations, the Student Union board also has plans to revamp The Pit outside of the USU with new seating, tables and new umbrellas.