An Internet connection for each student, CNN broadcasts in atrium and an in-house Starbucks.

Those are just some of the features Barsema Hall offered students and faculty during the first day of classes on Monday.

Graduate OMIS major Kamal Roz was impressed by the new facility.

“It is well-laid out compared to the old building,” Roz said. “I think it is a really well-developed place.”

Senior accountancy major Marta Grijalva disagreed.

“The setup of the building doesn’t make sense,” she said. “The accounting office is on the third floor, classes are on the second floor and the lab is on the first floor. If you need help with something you have to go to the third floor and back down. But it is a lot better than Wirtz Hall.”

Web kiosks with touch-screen directories are located at several locations throughout Barsema Hall. The kiosks contain maps, information on departments and people finders. These finders include photos and room numbers for students and faculty who still are formalizing themselves with the building.

Several students stopped by the cafeteria for a study break and to order coffee and snacks at the Three Sons Coffee Shop.

“You don’t have to go to the [Holmes] Student Center to get something to eat anymore,” Roz said.

Although students utilized all the high-tech features, there still are a few minor details to work out.

Not all Internet connections are hooked up for each student, and some complained of parking and distance.

“It’s really going to be a hike for students, but I guess it will get worked out somehow,” finance professor Robert Miller said.

Miller suggested an option for those that are parking in the engineering lot.

“We really need a sidewalk from the overflow of parking behind the Engineering Building because people have been drudging through the mud,” he said.

A shuttle bus will make scheduled stops to Barsema throughout the day, easing students’ worries of getting to class on time and long walks to class.