University pledges to consider student input in finalizing plans for Chancellor Green

Classics professor Josiah Ober said yesterday that no final decision about the fate of the Chancellor Green rotunda will be made without input from undergraduates.

Preliminary plans call for the conversion of the rotunda into library space, according to Ober, who chairs the committee on the East Pyne and Chancellor Green renovations.

"The architects have presented preliminary plans that have been reviewed by the president and informally by the trustees and chairs of departments," Ober said yesterday. "Now we're in the input stage."

Final renovation plans will be submitted to the University board of trustees in May or June, associate provost Allen Sinisgalli said. The renovations, slated for completion before the 2003-2004 academic year, will begin next summer.

To solicit student input, two undergraduate representatives — USG vice president Spence Miller '02 and U-Councilor Steve Berneman '02 — were added to the renovation committee Feb. 22 after an outcry from undergraduates that their opinions should have been considered earlier. The University had previously decided to convert the Chancellor Green rotunda into library space without informing students or soliciting their input.

The University has since created a Website to act as a sounding board for opinions on the renovation, Ober said.

Though he noted the student representatives will help decide the future function of the cafe, Ober said the University's decision to close the rotunda for renovations is not negotiable because the building does not meet prescribed accessibility codes.

"It is not a matter of 'should we close Chancellor Green?' The closure has to happen, unless you can say we don't really care if handicapped people can't access it," he explained. "The question is 'what is the renovated building going to look like?' "

Miller said the USG believes the answer is simple — the building should remain a student center.

"We believe students want Chancellor Green to continue to remain open. We just want to make sure the new rotunda stays in its current form," he said. "As it is now, there is not enough social space and avenues for non-alcoholic activities on campus."

The committee, however, must consider the opinions of other members of the community as well, Ober noted. "At a certain point, you can't have all that you want," he said. "Students have been very clear about the importance of social space. If you're a faculty [member], you want a nice office space. How can we meet as many people's needs as possible?"

The renovation of the rotunda is part of an ambitious plan to create a center for the humanities utilizing Joseph Henry House, East Pyne and Chancellor Green. The center will boast a lecture hall, a small cafe and a terrace area between Chancellor Green and Henry House.

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Before any construction can begin, the University must find temporary office spaces for the departments and programs currently housed in East Pyne — a challenge Ober said is one of the biggest problems facing the renovation committee.

"There is an absolute need that you have to have a place to put all the departments," he said. "This is a very difficult problem simply because we can't just say we won't have any Spanish classes one year because of the renovations."