University ready to grow with student body

The University may have proved itself Y2K-compliant, but if the board of trustees' proposed 10-percent increase in undergraduate enrollment is approved, Wythes compliance may be the campus's next obstacle.

Most administrators said, however, that while more students would necessitate additional resources and University facilities, existing plans for campus growth would accommodate the needs of a larger student body.

"The electricity will go up, the heating will go up, cooling needs will go up, the need for city water will go up, all of these things will increase [with 500 additional students]," Director of Engineering Thomas Nyquist said.

As it stands now, Nyquist said the University will be prepared to handle the increased demand on its resources. "The increases are all part of an overall increase in utilities that we have been planning for," he said.

The Wythes committee's proposals outline the need to construct a sixth residential college to accommodate the extra students. The college would include a new dining hall and dormitory space, which will contribute to the increased demand on resources, according to Nyquist.

A larger student body also would create a need for more parking options for students and staff, Director of Physical Planning Jon Hlafter '61 said. He added, however, that sufficient additional parking spaces will be provided by the new parking facility to be constructed in Lot 7 next to the Dinky station. "Parking has already been accounted for," he said, noting that the garage is slated to be completed by next fall.

Despite the future growth in the sheer size of the University's campus, an increase in Public Safety officers, cars and shuttles may not be necessary, according to Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser.

Weiser said Public Safety has not begun formal discussions about possible changes in the department yet because the increase in students is still being considered. "We're going to sit down over the next few summers and discuss possibilities," he said.

On the telecommunications front, CIT is not likely to experience problems with e-mail, telephone services or voice-mail as a result of the proposed increase in enrollment, according to CIT vice president Ira Fuchs. "We have to pay attention to the significance of an increase in network use by adding dormitories, but by adding only 10 percent [to student enrollment] I don't foresee any problems," he said.

Fuchs also said future changes in networking technologies could help CIT provide Dormnet to a larger student body if the Wythes committee's suggested increase is implemented. "By the time there are any changes [in enrollment] we could have a completely new system," he said.