LOST IN all the unpacking, book-buying and partying before classes began was a marathon of innocuous meetings regarding a project that may change the face of the University: a new student center. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives from the architecture firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates (VSBA) met with administrators and students to gather input for a proposal. The student body needs to get 100 percent behind this initiative and make sure student voices are heard at every stage -- we need to get this right.
It may surprise some to learn that a student center project is even in the works. Its genesis represents one of the few true successes for student self-governance over the past five years. In 1999, Student Council passed a resolution calling for an investigation into the potential creation of a new student center. From then until 2002, the undertaking went through a slow and gradual progression, including a number of town hall-style meetings to gauge what students wanted to see in the new building.
Finally, in 2002, the administration got fully behind the idea and hired a company to conduct a feasibility study. The results of that study laid the groundwork for the recent selection of VSBA to come up with a concrete project proposal, which is why their people recently were in Charlottesville.
At the moment, nothing has been set in stone. No decision has been made as to where the center will be or if it is going to be a new building at all -- renovating Newcomb Hall or other existing space remains an option. Once those fundamental questions have been answered, a slew of others remain. What will the center contain? Student organization space? A satellite registrar's or bursar's office? Performance space for the arts?
These are questions that should be answered by students. The two days of meetings held by VSBA are commendable, and the company has shown a real commitment to listening with an open mind. However, the sessions were not well-publicized and (maybe by design) most attendees were student leaders; few contributions were made from the general population.
The voice of the student body heard years ago at large-scale forums has faded. The student center project has entered a new phase, and it falls to the Wahoos of today to respond. New town hall meetings should be held and new polling data taken. In other words, a public discourse should be reopened.
This initiative will go nowhere without passionate student involvement. A robust center rife with social space is the single most lacking feature of student life here at the University. For five years students have fought for it, and now we have hired a firm to make a serious proposal. Yet, at this moment of triumph, the entire concept has fallen out of the student consciousness.
Students should embrace this project -- the space will be ours, why not make its creation ours as well? Architecture students could be working side-by-side with staffers from VSBA, and arts groups ranging from a capella to drama could participate in the design of new stages. The selection of whether McDonalds or Burger King goes in a new food court could come from the students who will be eating there instead of planners from Philadelphia.
The results of student-oriented construction projects that are devoid of substantial student participation tend to be unpleasant. Sit in the Pav on any given day and you can hear constant gripes about long lines and the lack of food choices. The renovations to Newcomb Hall have left behind such a cumbersome labyrinth that U-Guides don't even bring tour groups inside. The Student Activities Center, on the other hand, was built at the behest of and in collaboration with students; it is currently overflowing with use.
The obvious fact is that students know what students want. If students don't make their desires known now, we're going to end up with a lackluster result.
This point is of such importance as to require the rare first-person statement. I call upon students to get invigorated and excited about the prospect of a new student center. I call upon student leaders and administrators to organize a massive series of forums. I call upon everyone to take up the banner and work towards a product students, faculty and alumni can all be proud of.
This can be our legacy.
(Elliot Haspel's columns appear on Tuesday. He can be reached at ehaspel@cavalierdaily.com.)
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