1987-12-03

              December 3,1987

The Record

Page 3

Food drive over; organizers pleased

By Tom Benson

The food drive sponsored by the SJU Worker's Guild, faculty, staff and administration, and the student body has officially ended. Over 5,600 pounds of food were collected for distribution to needy families in this area.

This is the first year that students have-been involved on a large scale with the drive. The Worker's Guild approached the Social Action Coalition at the beginning of the drive to enlist their support in getting students to contribute. Brett Loeb and Dave Wright, Saint John's Senate members who are also associated with the Social Action Coalition, were the co-chairs of the stu-, dent effort. The SAC, which is made up of floor representatives from each dorm, was then responsible for the actual collection o f the contributions.

Thegoal set for the students at the beginning of the drive was 3,000 pounds of food. The actual contributions came to around 1,900 pounds. The goal was not reached, but Wright was still satisfied with the results, stating, "Even though we didn't reach our goal of 3,000 pounds, I was still impressed with the student body input because some floors gave much more than they were expected to."

It was difficult for the SAC to set a goal at the beginning of the drive since they had no prior results to look at The decision of 3,000 pounds was an arbitrary figure decided upon using only an estimate of what students would probably donate.

The food, including the over 3,000 pounds donated by the Worker's Guild, the faculty, and the administration and staff, was donated to Tri-cap foodshelves. The food will be distributed to needy

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Photo by Jeff Brzozowskl

The SJU Food Challenge is over, and organizers consider the drive a success. Although student contributions were less than hoped for, student leaders said they were pleased with the outcome.

families in the immediate area. One of the big      teams, goals of the drive was to provide food for families for Thanksgiving. Other groups contributing to the drive included members and coaches of the basketball, wrestling, cross country and hockey

J-Term

continued from page 1

to leave SJU after the Fall term, are not deserving of a rebate. And tfiose students who "want to enroll at SJU in February and want to take a J-, Term will not be charged anything additional."

Connors also said that only those students who work on campus or participate in varsity sports will be able to remain in residence during the 10 day break between J-Tcrm and Spring Term. All other students are expected to leave campus during themid-winter break, butout-of-state students can be granted exemptions. Connors said there will be no housing charge for those remaining in residence during this period.

"We discourage students from staying on campus during this time because there is not much going on here during those days," Connors said. "Postal service, busing service, and food services will all be limited andstudents will have to pay for their food." He said he realizes that the situation will be difficult forout-of-statcstudents, "since they will only have been here for three weeks since Christmas break." But he said he hopes those students will be able to make some kind of arrangements.

Connors explained that the ten day break was included in the school year calendar to give faculty members a chance to make preparations for their Spring Term courses. In addition, he said the 10 day period will be helpful to the Registrar's office in "settling some final issues about spring registration,"

The SAC is considering future charity efforts to benefit the region which would be conducted sometime in the spring.

Recommendations submitted for Benet renovation

By M.A. Holscher

The SJU Benet Hall renovation committee has completed its work of reviewing the current status . of the dormitory and has sent its recommendations for the building's upgrading to Roman Paur, SJU vice president for student affairs. The recommendations include provisions for the upgrading of utility systems, energy and safety modifications, as well as aesthetic changes.

In its report to Paur, the committee stressed that the original architecture of the building ought to be preserved. Likewise, it advised that "emphasis ought to be given to providing as many single rooms as possible." If adopted, the recommendations will require extensive modifications to the interior of the building.

But the committee acknowledged that its task was made difficult by uncertainty over how much money the university was willing to committo the project. "A major consideration that caused some problems was that the committee was not sure how extensive the University is willing to go with this project," the report stated. ""If the building is to be gutted, which is the suggestion of local plumbers, some of the committee's suggestions may need additional consideration."

Among the specific proposals made to Paur was the recommendation that all of the Benet Hall lounges be centrally located on each of the floors and that each lounge be equipped with a sink, cabinets, and electrical outlets. Likewise the committee proposed that the Faculty Resident rooms be stacked in the building and that one be added on the second floor.

Other recommendations included the installation of.a new elevator, the increase of natural lighting on some floors and the replacement of sinks, closets and bookshelves. The committee also recommended that.more electrical outlets; be installed in student rooms, as well as new soundproofing and carpeting in the hallways to decrease the sound transfer. Further proposals included new lighting in the hallways, new wooden doors for student rooms and the removal of lofts from

the third and fourth floors.

Cletus Connors, OSB, SJU director of residential programs and chair of the committee, told The Record this week that the minimum amount of money he thinks will be given for the project is $370,000. But he hopes the actual figure will be much more than that. "We truly think it is a good investment. It could be a really exciting project because of the building's history. A lot of great people have spent their college days in there," he said.

Connors said the committee considers Benet Hall "prime property," adding, "It's basically a good building and we hope that would be respected." He said the need for maintaining single rooms must be a "high priority because in other areas we're going to apartments and suites."

According to Connors, the committee believes the University needs to give priority to the relocation of the study lounges, the installation of a new elevator and the addition of new sinks and outlet fixtures. Likewise, he said committee members viewed electrical and plumbing changes to be "of high importance."

The installation of air conditioning was another major part of the committee's proposal. The final report said the air conditioning would "make the building much more functional especially for summer programs." Paur said he believes that, "because of its location and character, Benet Hall can be prime housing for students as well as for summer events."

Connors agreed. "We would like to see it used more for programs like the summer Elderhostel sessions and maybe in other ways other than merely sports camps," he said.

The proposal was forwarded to Paur on Nov. 25 and is expected to be reviewed by the Student Affairs Advisory Council early next week. Paur said he hopes the final renovation program will be ready by Friday, Dec. 18. The program will then be sent to the SJU Board of Regents and the Monastic Chapter for approval.

Photo by Patrick Drcizchntcr

'tis the season...

The student refectory is among the many areas on campus awash In holiday cheer.