News in brief
Don O’Leary, University of Guelph’s vice-president of finance, presented a proposal for University Centre renovations to the UC board of directors on Tues, Sept. 20, 2016.
O’Leary’s presentation indicated the need for renovations to give the first floor and basement of the UC a facelift, including bringing the first floor washrooms up to 2016 building and accessibility codes.
Physical Resources project manager Shane Danis showed the board a potential floor plan for both levels, as well as updated furniture models.
The updates to the UC would reconfigure the area currently occupied by UC 103, men’s and women’s washrooms, Click Signs, Mao Wireless, and the Guelph Resource Centre for Gender Empowerment and Diversity (GRCGED), converting the first floor into open-concept student space, as well as modernizing the Peter Clark Hall area with new meeting spaces and sliding partitions.
Following the proposal, members from GRCGED, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), and the union representing CUPE 3913 were extended speaking rights to express their concerns regarding the renovation proposal.
Representatives from GRCGED presented the board with a document outlining GRCGED’s space requirements in the event they are forced to move, as well as an alternate floor plan that maintains GRCGED’s current location in UC 107.
Hong Lam, outreach coordinator for GRCGED, explained that they are very happy staying in their current space as it offers “accessibility, comfort, and prominence.”
The room was opened to questions, proceeding in a discussion among board members and representatives from GRCGED and OPIRG.
A number of concerns regarding student space were introduced and addressed, and ultimately, the decision to approve or deny the approval has been left for the UC board to decide at their next meeting in October. Check next week’s issue of The Ontarion for more details on this meeting.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman.