The Rededication:

The rededication honored the past, present, and future of CU-Bloomsburg. Named after Senator McCormick’s Father, James McCormick, the McCormick Center has been closed for the last few years due to renovations. 

After a large donation from radio talent Kerby Confer, each floor of the building from the media center to the nursing floor was completely overhauled. The new additions include updated and overhauled media production labs, a radio and podcasting studio, multiple video control rooms, nursing simulators, large conference spaces, and many new rooms and tools for students to utilize.

In attendance at the event were James McCormick, Kerby Confer, Senator Dave McCormick, Bloomsburg Foundation Board Members, and many other administrators, faculty, and students to commemorate the rededication.

The Protest:

Commonwealth University is a public Pennsylvania state school, and some protestors have taken up concerns with Senator McCormick’s stance on School Choice.

 “It felt like our best opportunity to give him a message about how we feel about his support of Project 2025 and lack of support for public education,” said one protestor, Jill Carlson. Carlson has been a Bloomsburg resident for over 20 years and is involved with the Democratic Party of Columbia County, located on Main Street. Protestors held signs high, reading various messages about public education and bashing Senator McCormick’s job representing Pennsylvania. Carlson told the Voice her personal concerns about the Senator in a phone call after the event, “With him living in Connecticut and working in Washington, I doubt he actually spends much time in PA.” Other protestors included faculty members, community members, and Ell Williams, the President of the Sunrise Movement. Williams expressed opposition to Senator McCormick’s policies, specifically those concerning public education. The Voice reached out to Senator McCormick’s office for a statement on the protest, but no comment was given.