Grant Towers will have new lounge furniture, chosen by hall residents, by the fall semester.

Since the old furniture is state owned, it cannot be donated, said Sandi Carlisle, associate director of Residential Facilities.

Instead, it will be taken to inventory control where other departments on campus can obtain the used furniture at no charge to their department, she said.

If NIU departments do not want the items, they will be delivered to Springfield to give to other state agencies.

If the furniture is repairable, Furniture Repair Services, located in the Dorland building, will refurbish or repair the furniture.

“We don’t want to waste good furniture that can be re-upholstered,” Carlisle said.

Furniture too badly chipped or with a frame that is so worn it is no longer safe is thrown away, Carlisle said.

Most recently, the old Douglas Blue Room furniture has been refurbished and reused in the Lincoln television room. The Lincoln television room furniture was also refurbished and placed on two floors of the lounge areas in Neptune Residence Hall, Housing Administrator Jennifer Manning said.

“We need to refurbish Grant so we can at least feel it is usable,” Carlisle said.

Furniture has a 10 to 15-year life cycle and the furniture in Grant is 20 years old, Carlisle said. The Grant lounges’ furniture is in poor condition, it is chipped and mismatched.

This is the first time Residential Facilities have used the Internet to survey students’ opinions on furni