The Behrend College C o liegia n £>, b er 7 ]Q94 Erie, Pa 16563 ~~ Vol. XLIII, No. 11 Thursday, l ecenti Upcom by Alicia Hartman Renovations to the Reed building and Carriage House will begin next May under the firm of Weber Muiphy Fox. The renovations have been divided into two phases. Phase I is scheduled for next summer and will include renovations to the Carriage House, where the Health and Wellness Cento’ is located, and the Reed building. Phase n is scheduled for 1997- 1998 and includes further renovations to Reed. According to Dean of Student Affairs Chris Reber, Phase I has an estimated cost of $560,000 and Phase II has an estimated cost of $400,000. Reber said the money to fund the renovations will come from a University capital improvement project budget. Renovations are scheduled to begin in May, but Reber said "the present budget for the Carriage House and Reed project is insufficient to do everything.” Reber attributes being over budget to market conditions and the fact that "as the planning unfolded, new needs were identified." Reber said the University has already provided $350,000 for Phase I. Behrend will soon ask the University to provide the additional $210,000 needed for ng renovations Phase I renovations. He also said that Behrend does not know how much funding will be received for Phase n. Once the Carriage House is renovated, the north wing of the house will be used by the Health and Wellness Center and the south wing will be used by Dr. Robert Light, the associate dean for graduate studies, research, continuing and distance education, and economic development, and his staff. With the upgraded Health and Wellness Center there will be two offices, four exam rooms, a conference room, a waiting room, an interview room, and reception and medical storage areas. Reber said that Light and his staff will occupy the Carriage House only temporarily, and that in the future, all of the building will be used for health and wellness services. If the budget permits, Phase I renovations to Reed will be done in the old library and Commons, the Student Activities suite, the TV lounge, the Student Affairs office and the study lounge. Part of the old library will be the new home for Student Activities. There will be eight offices, a reception area, a waiting room, a workroom, a storage area and a "greenroom." A "green room" is a place where actors, speakers and other World AIDS Day by Loretta N. Olson Collegian Staff AIDS activist, actor and comedian Jason Stuart will be performing tonight in the Reed Lecture Hall at 8 p.m. as part of Behrend's observance of World AIDS Day. "I'm a statement just by being here," said Stuart "I hope to make people laugh and (through my humor) to open people's minds to homosexuality and the importance of safe sex for everyone." Stuart, who is now openly gay, came out of the closet on "Geraldo" nearly a year and a half ago. "It's much harder-to be in the closet It’s exhausting to lie all the time," he said. performers can relax before going on stage. The Commons will become a student lounge with round tables and chairs. The Student Activities suite will be converted into offices for student organizations. Reber said once the renovations are complete there will be eleven offices available for student organizations. He also said that SGA will be responsible for allocating these offices to student organizations. The current RUB desk office will be converted into a student organization budget office. Part of the TV lounge will then be converted into offices and storage rooms for the RUB desk. Reber said the remaining part of the TV lounge will become either a smaller lounge or a meeting room. The Student Affairs office will expand into the seminar room. There will be nine offices, all soundproof, reception and waiting areas, an area for work study students and a storage area. The study lounge will be converted to four meeting rooms. Restrooms will also be modernized with handicap accessibility. The restrooms will be renovated on a separate budget. Phase n renovations include further projects in the Reed building. The quiet room will be used by Stuart cites the young lesbians and gays of the future as well as AIDS itself as reasons for admitting his homosexuality in public. "How could AIDS not be important?" asked Stuart "I don't think anybody as an American, and especially as a homosexual, can afford to not be involved." Student Programming Council President Tom Keefe, who helped to coordinate this event said, "I always thought that college students knew exactly how to protect themselves. I was wrong...very wrong." Keefe said, "He's not just a comedian. He's an AIDS activist After all the seriousness throughout the day, we thought everyone could use a good the Counseling and Advising Center for career resources, testing and recruiting. Additional restrooms in the Wintergarden, a stage for the Commons, and a storage area to ut'p Z 1994 **>'% laugh." Stuart has appeared in the movie "Kindergarten Cop" and in the television series "Murder She Wrote," "Seaquest DSV" and "The John Larroquette Show." Stuart grew up in Los Angeles and always wanted to be an actor. "As a child I always wanted to be somebody else. As I've gotten older my performing is more about creating change." In addition to the observance of World AIDS Day, the Erie AIDS quilt will be on display today from 8 a.m. to S p.m. on the second flora'of the Reed building. At 5:15 p.m. the movie "And the Band Played On" will be shown in the Reed Lecture Hall. Admission is free to all students and faculty. house portable seats for events held in the Commons will also be constructed. Other renovations include more mailboxes and the installation of an elevator.
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