opinions Campus decisions should reflect student opinion I would like to thank James Dungan, director of the University's office of facili ties maagement and information, for his time and thought in answering my ques tions. On Sept. 18, the University Board of Trustees approved a large-scale building plan for the first time since 1974. The plans include some remarkable changes; one of the most obvious additions will be a class room building erected on the Pollock athlet ic fields along Shortlidge Road. The plan also calls for buildings to be constructed on the White Golf Course. (For more about the plan, see "PSU plan turns fields into labs." The Centre Daily Times, Sept. 19, 1987, Section A, page 7) One classroom within this new 15,000- 'Elm Need 1,000 ----1 I 1 Xerox® copies - I 1 I King 740 S. Atherton St., State College, PA 16801 • I I • OFFSET PRINTING • QUICK PRINTING • XEROX • COPIES I IBINIMMIIMIIIIIINIMMENIIIMIMMIIMEMONIINSEINIIIMINMININI EYEGL:4SSES '69"' 1 09" COMPLETE' COMPLETE' THAT INCLUDES THAT INCLUDES THE THE EYE EXAM , HIGH FASHION CONTACT LENSES , FRAME, LENSES (S .V. CONTACT LENS UNTINTED GLASS), CASE AND EYE EXAM! CONTACT LENS SOLUTIONS today? The King can do it! Printing i (814) 238-2536 EXTEN_ E_ WEA., C NTACTS square-foot building will have a capacity of 200 students. Other new classrooms will not be as large. Instructional "wet labs" will also be included in the new facility so that organic chemistry may move in from the second floor of Whitmore Lab. Deteriorat ing classrooms in Armsby, Sackett and Moore will no longer be used for teaching purposes once the new building is com pleted. In an interview, Jim Dungan, director of the University's board of facilities informa tion and management, said the classroom sizes would be influenced by the size of the wet labs and by specifications from the Bursar's office. No classrooms will be as large as those within the Forum, he said. An architectural firm from Pittsburgh known as IKM SKE Inc. will handle the design challenge. Construction on the $5 million facility, to begin next fall, is ex pected to be completed by fall of 1990. The area in question is used by the la crosse team for practices and games. It is also used for physical education classes, and students use it for pick-up games of soccer, football, and other sports. An alter native location for these activities has not been named. Available space on Pollock fields is scar- ce already. This point, however, is disre garded since the decision to build has already taken place. Exactly when the decision occurred is a point of confusion among students, myself included. An April 30 article which ap peared on page B-1 of the Centre Daily Times mentioned the issue. At that time, the trustees were considering Pollock fields as a location for a new classroom building. The next article concerning the topic appeared on May 23, shortly after IKM SKE Inc. was granted a contract to construct a classroom building on Pollock fields. The final decision to build on Pollock fields must have oc curred sometime between April 30 and May 23, pre-dating the master plan ap proved on Sept. 18. Notice the timing: Spring Semester ended on May 9. If the student body was to be informed of the issue, this was perhaps the worst possible time of the year to make the decision. Why? The Daily Collegian was not in print for finals week when students' noses were buried in textbooks and exams. Students, therefore, were not informed of current events. If the decision was made after finals week, when students had left the University for the summer, then total disregard was COMPUTER CENTER shown for student concern on the issue. Students simply were not around to register complaints. When I asked Jim Dungan of the decision, he said that it had occurred in the spring, but he did not recall the exact day. Some might argue that a great deal of attention was paid to student input. Two students served on the facilities resource subcommittee which recommended a loca tion for the new classroom building. These two students were members of the Universi ty Student Executive Council and Jim Dun gan himself acted as liason between the Facilities Resource Committee and USEC. This was done in an effort to get student input into the issue. However, student opinion was not accu rately represented. The FRC, which is com posed only of administrators, chose Pollock fields as the site for the new building. In contrast, the Center Halls Residence Asso ciation voted 23 to 0 against the measure. Many students are vociferously attacking the plan, but they do not know where to direct their opinions. Moveover, it is not clear if students were even in school when FRC's decision was made. Compensations should be made for the lost recreational space. Improvements rY gg' authentic period costume Visit the Vintage Room and let your imagination take over. Special Costuming Hours: 9:30-7:00 p.m. Mon.-Wed. The Daily Collegian Monday. Oct. 26. 1987-9 could be made upon existing athletic facili ties, such as Pollock basketball courts. New recreational space could be created since the size of Pollock fields will be decreased. The poultry plant along Bigler Road is scheduled to move within the next five to seven years, Dungan said. There is a possibility that a second build ing may be constructed on Pollock fields. according to Dungan. A strong effort should be made by student institutions Under graduate Student Government. USEC. stu dents on the FRC subcommittee, and the Association of Residence Hall Students to see that student opinion is accurately rep resented in the decisions concerning this second building. The poor timing of the Pollock decision, whether intentional or not, left the student body uninformed. Their present confusion and aggravation is justified the building decision was deplorable. If students object to building plans, then something in the University's decisions should reflect this. Thus far, this has not been the case. Bill Cahir is a sophomore majoring in English and is a columnist for The Daily Collegian.
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