By John McHutchion
Only seven students turned up to the first in a series of “Town Hall” meetings hosted by the Ryerson Campus Centre Committee last Thursday. The meetings are being held to solicit student input on plans for a new campus centre to be built at 55 Gould Street, beside Oakham House.
Committee members did not seem surprised by the low turn out. “We anticipated that it would take a while to make people aware and get them involved,” said committee member and History Chair Dr. Ron Stagg.
Scott Keith, a first-year Social Work student, was disappointed by the level of in the meeting. “It’s too bad the students don’t participate in this,” he said. “I don’t know whose fault is that.”
Stagg stressed that the plans for the proposed campus centre are still in the formative stages. He said the Campus Centre Committee was “intentionally not making decisions until we get the maximum input…Obviously this meeting is not going to do it.”
Matthew Ying, a Continuing Education student. was one of the few students on hand to share his views. He said any new campus centre must be accessible if students are encouraged to use it.
A campus centre referendum is slated for October 1995. Ryerson students will be asked if they want to finance the construction of the new building. The centre is expected to cost between $7.9 million and $11 million. Committee members said the wide cost variance depends on space requirements and the services provided.
If the referendum passes and enough funding can be secured, construction is scheduled to start in the summer of 1996 with a completion date in early 1998. RSU President Mike D’Angelo said he hopes the campus centre will be ready in 1998 to coincide with Ryerson’s 50th anniversary.
Ryerson students currenly contribute six dollars per year to a construction fund that will total $600,000 by the end of the year. D’Angelo said $700,000 is also available from the Ryerson Centre for a new facility. The Ryerson Centre’s fund is leftover from the 1960’s when money was being collected to finance a new student centre.
Diana McLaren, the executive director of Continuing Education Students Union at Ryerson (CESAR), said night students approved a campus centre referendum last fall. Starting this fall, Continuing Education students will contribute 50 cents per course to the construction fund.
Students’ pockets will not be the only source of funds for the new centre. D’Angelo said that a fundraising feasibility study will be presented within the month. The study, being prepared by Ryerson’s Department of Development and Alumni, examines options for securing corporate sponsorship for the centre.
However, contributions from outside Ryerson are not expected to account for a large part of the capital costs.
“Ultimately, it would be the Ryerson students who would be paying the majority of the costs of the building.” D’Angelo said.
For its part. Ryerson is contributing the land on Gould Street where the centre is to be built.
A 1992 referendum on a previous centre plan failed to win student approval. Stagg said the plan was viewed by students as too elitist. To counteract that view, Stagg said many more groups were invited to get involved in the decision making process.
D’Angelo said, “(The plan has) changed from a student-exclusive centre to a campus-inclusive centre.”
The final Town Hall meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday Mar. 22, in Pitman Hall.
Leave a Reply