Sunday, January 21, 2007

Issue of the Day: Student Space

(If you haven't filled out the survey, please check out the post below this one... we appreciate it!)

Ironically (given the construction), student space is hard to come by on this campus. It generally exist in three forms:

  1. Space in University buildings. This includes faculty lounges, lobbies, study rooms, etc.
  2. Undergraduate Society spaces. Including MASS, Ladha, The Cheeze, etc. These are paid for usually by student fees (with donor/University help), and administered by your undergraduate societies.
  3. SUB space. The AMS controls almost all the space in the SUB, with the exception of the cafeteria and Starbucks on the main floor. They also control all the rooms, which can be booked.
Control of the SUB Space is under the control of the VP Admin, and renovations are overseen by the VP Finance. Most changes have to be approved by Council. So it's very relevant to the AMS elections; the people you elect are responsible for making sure the SUB meets your needs.

So does it? In recent years, they've renovated the conversation pit (the airport lounge), the Gallery (new paint), the Council Chambers (bet you never noticed that one), the curtains in the Ballroom, taken out the arcade and replaced it with meeting rooms, added the Honour Roll, put in sliding doors then promptly removed them. Do you like the SUB? Do you spend time there? What kind of space do you want/need?