Students are finding a new feature at the Bowen Thompson Student Union as they begin the spring semester ? a game room.

The new Union game room is located in room 105, across from the Black Swamp Pub and next to the computer lab. The room is the new home to various video games, including racing games, shooting games and a pinball machine.

The new game room is the result of student input, according to Mary Edgington, director of the Bowen Thompson Student Union.

?I?d been working with different student organizations and meeting with different student groups to find out what they would like to see in the Union,? Edgington said, ?and video games kept coming up.?

The money the machines bring in will be added to the Union budget and will be used to fund additional student programs at the Union.

The machines will be under periodic evaluation, resulting in less popular games being taken out and new ones added accordingly, Edgington said.

The game room will be open until May, at which point the project as a whole will be evaluated. If student interest remains high, the game room will remain in the Union next year.

For right now, it seems that the games are gaining popularity.

?I haven?t been to an arcade in years. It brings back old memories,? Matt Benzel, senior, said while visiting the game room.

?So far, the reaction [to the game room] has been very positive,? Edgington said.

The game room will be open at 7 a.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday, closing at midnight everyday.