For or against a student center at Augustana?
It may just be that I'm over a thousand miles away and not in the thick of it, but it seems like the debate over a student center at Augustana is getting pretty fired up.
I'm seeing many arguments for and against the construction of the new building, but I'm not satisfied with all the reasoning behind them. I guess I'll start with some of the cons of building.
A major argument I see is that the school has other spaces (i.e. the college center, Westerlin lounge, Pepsico) that aren't used to capacity. It's not always an issue of jam-packing these places, because then there is too much traffic and people can't enjoy their space. A student center does provide an alternative to these spaces without really creating "empty" spaces. People will still go to the CC for meals and use lounges for studying and Pepsico for working out. This center would provide something different recreationally for students (which could lead to less students going off campus and engaging in heavy drinking; an increasing trend I have noticed over the past few years).
Another con argument would be that there is no good place to put the building. I appreciate the concern over aesthetics, but seriously, no one here is a civil engineer. A building can't be placed just anywhere that looks good, especially on a rolling campus like Augie. With the kind of money the administration is working with and the building standards of our time, no design or construction is going to be put forth that doesn't take into consideration how it looks while still maintaining the building's safety, cost effectiveness, ability to withstand many years of use, and student needs. Personally, the site between the library and Founders sounds the best. Larger site area with a hill that is easier to build into than others, central to the campus, preserving the quad, and aesthetically overlooking the slough.
One more con. Some see the construction of new housing to be a greater priority. A reason students are placed in lounges isn't necessarily because of inadequate space, it's because the college accepts a certain number of applications each year from prospective students with the thought that X number won't accept. They usually get it close, but it will never be perfect. To accept too few applications and end up with empty rooms means the school is losing money and people that want to go there are denied the opportunity. There will still be students in lounges because the admins know that students who choose to go to Augie will deal with it in order to go there. I have heard conflicting information; the administration is trying to increase/decrease the student population. If new resident halls are being built, I think it's safe to assume the administration is trying to increase the population. If it was just to solve overcrowding, they wouldn't have built a hall on the magnitude of Swanson because there isn't that much overcrowding.
Now for some pro arguments. The main one I'm hearing is that the college is keeping up with the demands of a materialistic society in order to compete with other liberal arts schools. What I don't like about this argument is that it places the prestige of the school on its amenities and not on its academics, which is really what going to school is about. Having an ace such as a student center will draw more students, but the value of the education is what is most important. Future employers aren't going to look at a résumé and say, "Jee, they graduated from Augie. I heard they have a great student center." Augie probably has the best liberal arts education in the midwest. This needs to be the selling point, otherwise Augie is being turned into a resort rather than the great academic institution it claims. Too much emphasis on a student center, which I can easily see happening, will diminish the true value of attending Augustana.
Another argument (more so a defensive retaliation) is asking where everyone was years ago when this issue first came onto the table. If you think about it, the people who are speaking out against the construction of the student center were either freshmen or not even college students when the discussion started. As nice as it would be for first years to get involved in shaping the future dynamics of the college, they haven't experienced it enough to have strong enough opinions. Upperclassmen know that they won't reap the direct benefits of the center because it won't be constructed in time for them to experience. College pride may motivate some to care, but the truth is there are a lot of upperclassmen that have other things to worry about (like their senior papers and applying to grad schools/jobs) than to advocate for or against the building. The same thing happened with the honor code: a low voting turnout and it passed anyway because the majority of those voting were the ones who created it (please refrain from commenting about the honor code. I have many issues with that and this note is about the student center, so let's keep it to that).
I applaud those who do take up issue for or against the student center because it acts as a barometric gauge for the administration to base its future planning to meet students' wants and needs. Those speaking against it, the plan is already in effect and there is no stopping it now. A student center is going to be built, so try to make the best of that and let the administration what you'd like to see best made of it. Those speaking for it, don't get too defensive. The idea of liberal arts is to have differing view points and bring them to the table and be civil about it. Not that anyone is getting nasty (actually, most have been extremely courteous), but I see signs of people getting too emotional.
My opinion? Augie doesn't need a student center yet. Going forth with this plan requires a large sum of money; money that can be allocated in many ways. With the prospect of the student center, combined with the reconstruction of Carlsson Hall (TWO S's PEOPLE, GET IT RIGHT) and the building of Swanson Commons, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent. These projects need being done, but stop and look at the rest of the campus. There are several projects that are in dire need of attending to. Some examples are:
Sorenson. Anybody have a class in there? I remember taking Intro to Psych behind a giant concrete support pillar in a medium sized classroom with 40 other students. Not the best learning environment when you can't even see the professor. Also, I know most of you reading this haven't had to get around in a wheelchair before, but does anyone know how to get to the education department if you are wheelchair bound? You have to use the freight elevator by the loading dock in the back of the building. Our Ed program is the best in the state at preparing our graduates for working in our schools; that should warrant better facilities. I would personally love to see the education department expanded to have more facilities and accessibility so that children from the community could come and seek tutoring or help Ed students get practice working with disabled students. The psych department is rather confined to a small space and I haven't taken any business courses, but I'm sure they run into the same boat. The building is a warehouse from decades ago; definitely needs an overhaul more so than a student center.
Bergendoff. One thing I love so much about the music department is that so many students outside of a music major participate in lessons and ensembles. Our music faculty is top notch and our touring ensembles helps bring in so many prospective students every year (I personally came to Augie after seeing the symphonic band, my future ensemble, when they were on tour in the suburbs). Besides the ER, which is a fairly new extension that was built properly, and Larson Hall, which had work done to improve it around the same time as the ER was built, everything in the building is outdated. The practice rooms are hardly soundproof, small, and few in number. Some professors have to share offices/studio spaces with others or worse, be put in the rooms originally designed to be dressing rooms for Centennial Hall. For a building that serves so many students across the whole campus and a department that the most visible to the community, neglecting significant revamping for the construction of a student center is irresponsible.
Centennial Hall. http://getyourwings5.livejournal.com/76747.html#cutid1 This is my senior capstone paper to why Centennial Hall is the biggest piece of shit ever called a building. Sorry, I rarely swear in my journal/facebook, but this infuriates me to no end. Not only is Centennial essential to our ensembles, but it is the most used building for the community. The hall is always in use by church conferences, leadership seminars, professional lectures, and community and touring music groups. For the one campus building that gets seen in the public eye the most, it is horrible. I feel like I need to go apologize to these people for our monstrosity. Basically, about 60 years ago, Betsy Brodahl went over the heads of administration, who wanted to build a good concert hall mainly for the use of the Oratorio Society, went with the cheapest designers and builders she could find, and took credit for building what she claimed was a great contribution to the school. As a student currently studying Acoustical Engineering, I can see nothing redeeming about the hall. Dr Culver told me a story about when the Chicago Symphony came to début the hall. After spending hours of extra rehearsal time trying to make the ensemble sound good and performing a good sounding concert at the cost of much needless effort, the conductor was asked his opinion of the hall. His response, "bulldoze it." Of course, they said the opposite to the administration. You are a guest in their hall; you don't insult them by being honest. Also, of course it would sound good for them. They were touring around the state playing in high school gymnasiums, so Centennial was a relief. This issue is so important to me that I have pledged to not make contribution to my alma mater until they demolish that hall and actually consult professionals to design and construct something worthy to show to the public and say, "Come. Listen to our wonderful music ensembles in our beautiful sounding hall. Come watch our theatre groups perform on a stage that allows for them to put on performances. Bring your events here to make use of the glorious space that can suit your needs. Ok, breathe. Whew. Seriously, I don't know why anything else is even being considered before this.
There you go. In short, student center is going to happen, people debating it is a good thing regardless, and look for other justifications besides the obvious or misleading. If I learned one thing from Augie, it is that a liberal arts education means thinking outside the box, looking harder than normal at the situation, and asking the tough questions. So far, I'm not seeing that going on.
Comments, commence.