The computer lab tucked in the corner of the Memorial Student Union's Sam's Place has gotten a face-lift over the summer and is now catching on to the fun-filled game atmosphere that surrounds it.

"We wanted the lab to be a social environment," said Dan Adams, director of the Union.

The lab, which opens Monday, is offering special hours for students who want to bring and play their favorite CD-ROM games.

This somewhat forgotten lab will be the largest on campus, with 70 operating Hewlett Packard Vectra XM4 5/120 Pentium machines running Windows NT workstation software.

The project was funded by grants from Hewlett Packard, which donated the computers, and Microsoft, which donated the software in a joint venture between the Union and the Department of Management Information Systems.

David Pingry, head of the MIS Department, said, "The reason people don't know about the lab is because the machinery down there is so old that the demand for the lab plummeted. Fortunately, through the grants, we were able to modernize the lab."

Adams said they are also working on accommodating those who want to eat inside the lab.

Some students who would like to munch on snacks and gulp down a beverage found it appealing.

"I guess that would be an attraction for a lab," said John Moran, history junior.

Not everyone knew about the lab, located in a dark room filled with arcade games and pool tables.

Moran said, "I never knew the lab was back there, and I have worked in the Student Union for a year."

Micheal Mayer, who has been a clerk at Sam's Place for a year, added, "A lot of people hardly know there is a lab down here."

Procrastinators will benefit from the lab's extended hours, which last until midnight most nights. These hours make it one of the latest labs open on campus.

Two other terminal labs, which are used to connect to computers at the Center for Computing and Information Systems, are open 24 hours but are not able to run programs, said Barbara Hoffman, principal computer manager at CCIT.

The lab also features a large-monitor screen for students working on group projects. It will be located in an individual room that students can reserve.

Other renovations included the addition of four windows that look out into Sam's Place, along with new furniture and a new paint job.

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