By Elsie Stormberg…

As the school shook, many students’ days were interrupted by the thoughts of airplanes, thunderstorms, or even, an earthquake in Nebraska. No, the vibrations were not any of those imaginative events. It was something quite simpler.

In July 2015, Marian broke ground along Military Avenue and began construction. The plans were to get rid of the student drop off and replace it with a new and improved BLUEtique.

“Initially, our priority was the landscaping on the south side, which has such an impact on our curb appeal, physical appearance, and presence in the neighborhood. We had been looking at a different location for the BLUEtique and then came to realize that our first choice wasn’t the best location. The better location was down on the first floor pushing outside of the quad,” Ms. Mary Higgins, President of Marian, said.

As most students and staff know, the BLUEtique is the quaint shop located in the depths of sophomore hall (first floor) where it is pretty much undisturbed.

“It will be great exposure. It is nice when you are the mom of a sophomore because you get to see all the freshmen and sophomores, but when you have a junior or senior you never see them. So if we are in the Quad, we are going to be right out there in front of the girls while they are eating lunch. But, you know, you only have so much time to eat, so you don’t want to come down here to the BLUEtique. You can just go to quad, grab what you need, and go back and eat,” Marian Alum Toni Compton ‘86 and mother of junior Keara Compton said.

Compton, manager of the BLUEtique, went on to discuss how it will be easier to shop not only for students, but for mothers as well.

“When mothers can’t volunteer during the day, they can volunteer at night during games and other events where they are welcome to purchase items from the BLUEtique,” Compton said.

Students and parents will have more access to the BLUEtique and be exposed to a whole new atmosphere. Compton plans on having a new inventory rollover rate and a new, more “boutiquey” feel.

“It has been very low impact on the school, because they did all the major dirt work out there at the end of July. When they actually come inside to build the BLUEtique, those glass windows will come out, and then there will be some disruption in the quad area during study hall,” Ms. Rochelle Rohlfs, Assistant Principal and Head of the Athletic Department, said.

To solve this issue, the students in study hall in the Quad will be moved to the cafeteria with the doors shut during construction.