Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: October 20, 2002, No. 4

WSA Officers

President: Joey Wender
Vice President: Yaw Agyenim-Boateng
Coordinator: George Briggs
Treasurer: Adam Lachman

Meeting Agenda and Business

Meeting Opening
Approval of Minutes
Discussion of Campus Planning
Committee Reports
New Business and Announcement
Adjournment

Opening of Meeting

The meeting was opened at 8:03 pm.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes were approved unanimously.

Discussion of Overall Campus Planning with Joyce Topshe, Director of Construction Services, and Luanne Greene, the Campus Master Plan Consultant
Joyce Topshe informs the Assembly that major reconstruction is being planned for the University; it includes new facilities, renovations, new designs, better accessibility, better parking, etc. (see Appendix 3A) There will be a predicted 300 million dollars spent over the next ten years.

Every project on campus was assigned a team of people to work on hiring and the design process. Each of the teams will contain students from the WSA. There will be different layers of students: people who participate each week, a group of students who will hear a report once a month (such as the WSA), and the student body, who will hear updates a couple of times a year.

There will be multiple committees in order to examine the various aspects of the campus planning. The consulting groups for the Wesleyan project are the Director of Facilities Operations, Facilities Operations Staff, student groups, faculty, Public Safety, buildings and grounds, ITS/WesTel/Telecommunications, University Relations, Purchasing and Recycling Manager, Energy Management, Finance, Wes Landmarks Advisory Board, the Space Management Committee, and Communications. Marcia Bromberg is the Master Plan Executive Committee Chair. The Board of Trustees Facilities Working Group, which consists of twelve people, visits once a month, approves plans, checks overspending.

A typical project team includes the executive committee leadership representative, the dean of the program, the director of the program, the director of construction services, the construction services project manager, the segment manager for facility operations, student representatives, faculty representatives, a design team, the contractor or construction manager, and special program consultants.

The projects that are currently being considered are the creation of a new university center that will 1) be the major dining facility and will replace Mocon and Davenport, 2) feature large conference rooms and many student spaces. Additions to Freeman are being planned so that space will be freed up in Fayerweater. There are students already on the advising committee for this project who will work with the WSA. Other projects being planned are the creation of a new science building that will replace Hall Atwater, the renovation of the humanities buildings in order to connect all of them, and the creation of a film studies building.

Luanne Greene, the Campus Master Plan Consultant from the firm of Ayers/Saint/Gross, describes her firm's previous work on college campuses. They are very inclusive and want a lot of input from Wesleyan students before they create any plans for Wesleyan. Currently, they are doing a lot of comparisons between colleges to see what the best plan for Wesleyan is. Parking is the biggest issue so far.

Stacks

Joey Wender states that the center of the campus is the best and most collegiate part of it, but the feelings is lost very quickly as one walks away from the center.
Matt Lerner reminds the speakers that they must make sure the new campus center can handle all of the students and traffic that will go through it. It will be hard to make a building that accommodates everyone when we can't even accommodate half of the student body today.
Jeremy Abrams points out that it would be a horrible mistake for the University to phase our the woodframe houses.
Ms. Topshe responds that the houses often need more maintenance work than they're worth.
Ali Gomer asks if they are looking at building on Long Lane.
Ms. Topshe answers that they are looking at Long Lane, as well as bringing the University's holdings closer together.
Anay Shah points out that the renovations are seemingly never ending and that they take away from the beauty of the campus, especially the center.
George Briggs declares that the crosswalks between Olin and the Science Center are dangerous because people always cross anywhere.
Colleen Galbraith asks what Ms. Greene thinks of the aesthetic quality of the campus.
Ms. Greene responds that the large lawns are beautiful and very "New England," but she didn't expect so many discreet places. There is not a lot of collective tissue in the architecture.
Ms. Galbraith suggests an alternative study space to the library.
Pacho Carreno proposes that a bookstore and WesShop are combined so that students can make one stop to run errands.
Ms. Topshe says that they are looking into something like that, but they also want to build a connection with downtown merchants. She is currently talking to the owner of Atticus to move it into a nicer building. A bookstore would be too large to have in a university center and might ruin the University's relationship with Middletown.
Azia Azmi recommends a delivery center at the new university center instead of a whole bookstore in order to conserve space. Sara Mirsky asks what the plans for the landscape are. She advises that some flowers are included in the plans.
Mr. Lerner argues that students should be updated about renovations.
Ms. Topshe informs him that a webpage will be put up to look at the campus plan, get details, and ask questions.
Mr. Lerner warns against taking parking away during the renovations. He also suggests more defined neighborhoods for students, separating them from Middletown residents and bringing them closer to the campus center.
Ms. Gomer asks if the football field and locker rooms will be moved.
Ms. Topshe explains that locker rooms will be in Freeman, but locker rooms for half time will be in the campus center. Some people have suggested moving the football field to Long Lane.
Mr. Shah inquires into the intended sidewalk at the bottom of Foss Hill.
Ms. Topshe informs him that they were about to create one, but were stopped in the process.
Mr. Shah asks if there are any quick changes for which to look.
Ms. Topshe states that a walk will take place tomorrow morning to spot any improvements that could be made on campus. Some items might be replaced instead of renovated.
Mr. Abrams declares that the bleachers in the middle of the campus center look cheap and that a permanent field and stadium should be built.
President Wender says that Fayerweather is the most beautiful building on campus. He suggests that being outside is emphasized more and that the amount of cars and traffic around campus is decreased.
Adam Lachman points out that a more welcoming campus center that can be a congregating space would be an improvement to the university.
Adam Poswolsky states that Middletown detracts from the campus. A bookstore on Main Street would perhaps improve Wesleyan-Middletown relations and make Middletown suck less.
Mr. Lerner thinks that it is good that every complex has its own identity. He ask about the new dorm that is being proposed.
Ms. Topshe answers that a lot of students have to live off campus, so a new residence hall is being created to accommodate at least 160 people. They hope to place it close to the center of campus.
Selina Ellis suggests that new dorm has balconies and that the emphasis is placed on being outside. She states that Westco is a very vibrant place, and that the new dorm should be modeled after that.
Ms. Galbraith emphasizes handicap accessibility. She also points out that Westco is not aesthetically pleasing.
Maris Yanow asks if anything is planned for better nightlife.
Ms. Topshe responds that a space is being planned for a bar type of building, but they are debating whether or not to serve alcohol there.
Gabe Tabak points out that if the new campus center is moved to Fayerweather, dining (other than Summerfield's and Kosher Kitchen) is moved farther away from the Butts.
Dan Heller suggests that the cemetery is fenced or moved, and that a workout room is installed in each residential hall.
Ms. Topshe informs him that many colleges are actually moving away from having workout equipment in residential halls because of liability issues and the cost of constantly replacing the equipment.
Ms. Gomer approves of the addition to Olin because you can still see the old façade. She feels that other renovations should be modeled after that.
Mr. Tabak suggests placing a door on the field side of Olin.
Ms. Topshe informs the Assembly of a student body open house that is to take place on Thursday, November 7 at 8:00 pm. Student can contact her at x3757 or at jtopshe@wesleyan.edu. They can contact Ms. Greene at (410) 347-8500 or at lgreene@asg-architects.com.

Committee Reports

Student Affairs Committee (SAC)
Emily Polak, SAC Chair, reports:
The first URLC meeting was held and a preliminary agenda was set. The topics that are going to be worked on are: 1) laundry facilities- a new facility was installed on Vine Street that has a security camera for safety; it won't be turned or monitored all the time, so student should not have a false sense of security; 2) storage; and 3) student space- they are looking into making storage garages rentable to students for band practices and parties.
The SAC met with the dining consultant. A food survey is being sent out to students in the end of November. Ms. Polak is trying to convince vendors of food trucks to come around at night.
The SLC is researching chalking policies on other campuses. A day is being planned that will be full of community forums where people can come in and express their views on chalkings. The SLC is also looking closely at disability accessibility issues and forming LBGTQQ/SLC subcommittee. They are trying to send out campus wide emails for every sexual assault case, even if the perpetrator is known.
Community Outreach Committee (COCo)
Jeremy Abrams, COCo Chair, reports:
The Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) is getting underway. There will be a meeting on Friday to set the agenda. Email Mr. Abrams at jrabrams@wesleyan.edu if you can think of anything to put on the PSAC agenda. COCo is trying to meet with AWARE.
The Get Some workshop will be held on Wednesday in MR1.
Educational Policy Committee (EPC)
Colleen Galbraith, EPC Chair, reports:
The Reaccreditation Committee met; the EPC is trying to get a greater student voice in that. They talked about chalkings and community standards and got a lot of faculty perspective on it.
Ms. Galbraith had a successful meeting with President Bennet this week.
Voting on the film studies department and the university calendar will take place this week.
Finances and Facilities (FiFac)
Ali Gomer, FiFac Chair, reports:
Ms. Gomer met with Joyce Topshe before Fall Break and discussed what we heard tonight. She attended the major management meeting and has a list of proposed projects for next school year. They analyzed different requests (priorities, costs, etc.) and discussed a wide range of issues.
Ms. Gomer will be meeting with Marcia Bromberg later this week to discuss campus planning after tomorrow's walk about campus.
Independent Projects Committee (IPC)
Yaw Agyenim-Boateng, IPC Chair, reports:
The IPC published WSA reports in the Argus last week and will continue highlighting the meeting for the paper.
An email account for the senior class was successfully created.
The IPC's next project will be to put Esquid back online.
Student Budget Committee (SBC)
Adam Lachman, WSA Treasurer and SBC Chair, reports:
Mr. Lachman met with Steve Chasey of the Argus to review their financial status. They are close to achieving their goals for this semester.
Coordinating Committee (CC)
George Briggs, WSA Coordinator, reports:
The CC will meet this week to do appointments for the IPC and FiFac.
Executive Committee (EC)
Joey Wender, WSA President, reports:
The EC met with President Bennet. They reviewed the Strategy for Enhanced Student Representation, and Bennet agreed to everything that was proposed. There will therefore be increased communications between student and administrators. They also discussed chalkings at the meetings; community standards need to be built before the moratorium is lifted.
There will be a meeting at 6:00 pm next Sunday with the Code of Non-Academic Conduct.

New Business and Announcements

No new business or announcements are raised.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
Monica Arduini, WSA Secretary