By Jason Scott
The struggle for a new campus centre is over — sort of.
In July, RyeSAC took control of the daily management of Oakham House. It is part of a deal aimed at making the 148-year-old building the focal point for student activity on campus.
“Ryerson doesn’t have a whole lot of leisure space. It’s pretty much a concrete prison. This will be one of the ways to combat that and try to make it a really good place to hang out,” said RyeSAC president Victoria Bowman.
This is the closest Ryerson has come to having a campus centre since a converted airplane hangar housed a gym pub, tuck ship, barber shop and lounge space in 1950. It was demolished and replaced by West Kerr Hall.
RyeSAC’s agreement with the Palin Foundation, the charity that leases Oakham House from Ryerson, gives the council a majority on the management committee in charge of providing Oakham House’s services.
“I think this is the best way to guarantee our campus centre has a strong student focus,” said Liz Devine, secretary of Palin. “It’s the most appropriate direction for Oakham House to be moving in.”
RyeSAC plans to attract students to Oakham House by giving student groups easier access to conference rooms and lounges and opening a coffee ship and a new campus pub.
But not all Ryerson students will be able to enjoy the building right away. An elevator and ramps must be built in order make Oakham House wheelchair accessible.
Making Oakham House accessible is expected to cost at least $150,000. That money will most likely come from RyeSAC’s capital allocation fund, a pool of $730,000 students have been paying into since 1967. It was established to pay for the construction of the new campus centre. A plan for the $8-12 million centre was canceled by last year’s RyeSAC Board of Directors.
The construction of a new campus centre is RyeSAC’s agenda but it is unlikely to be built any time soon.
Neither Ryerson nor RyeSAC has the money needed for the project and students would have to pay about $50 per year to cover the construction and mortgage of a new campus centre.
Although the capital allocation fund is intended for a new campus centre, RyeSAC will be able to use the money on Oakham House if a majority of students approve the plan at a special meeting this winter.
There are no firm plans for the fund’s remaining money.
“Besides accessibility, there isn’t anything that will be making any huge capital acquisition on. Most of it is just pure renovation…so I suppose in a few years we’ll probably see where it’s at,” said Michael Wiltshire, RyeSAC’s v.p. finance.
Wiltshire hopes a long-term plan will see RyeSAC acquire the old journalism building next door to Oakham House. A connecting wing would then be built between the buildings.
Another plan is to tear down the journalism building and build a small quad.
RyeSAC was able to take over the daily operation of Oakham because the Palin Foundation was concerned the house was losing too much money. It was jeopardizing the building’s mandate as a non-classroom environment for students, faculty and alumni because external rentals were being relied on to generate income.
Oakham House has a debt of $150,000 and, except for last year, has been losing money since 1993.
Last year, Oakham House grossed revenues of $500,000 in rentals to external groups like Eaton’s School of Retailing.
The Palin Foundation looked at proposals from several outside management companies before choosing RyeSAC to manage the building.
“We’re confident they’re committed,” said Scott Clarke, treasurer of the Palin Foundation. “It’s an old building. It’s a lot of work and they’re prepared to upgrade the building.”
But greater student access to oakham House means rental revenues will fall this year. RyeSAC will pay the operating deficit, expected to be $55,000.
In addition to rental revenue and $160,000 in grant money from Ryerson per year from students. Each full-time student pays four dollars per year and continuing education students pay one dollar per course. That amount won’t change in the near future.
RyeSAC hopes to stop the flow of red ink in the Oakham House ledger by opening a coffee shop and downstairs pub called The Cavern. Only $2,000 has been spent renovating the bar so far.
“What we will have is a good place to congregate. What we will have is a viable pub with smoking,” said Bowman. “I think that will go a long way to improving school spirit.” But the flaw is smoking will be banned from all bars and diners in Toronto starting Jan. 2.
Other services to be moved to Oakham House include RyeSAC’s Student Groups Coordinator and the new ombuds office.
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