News 2
^Record
November 9, 2000
Sexton, Mary improvements will commence this January
M-ianda L. Mitchell Staff Writer
The campus of St. John's University will be shifting office spaces of whole departments and clubs in accordance with the upcoming completion of the tower of Sexton Commons and renovations of the ground floor of Mary Hall and first floor of the Quadrangle.
Because of financial issues (bonds to pay for all the construction), SJU will start the first of the renovations earlier than planned during this upcoming January-term. The projects will be completed in phases, the last one ending most likely by fall of 2002.
These plans are ahead of schedule due to the necessity of completing the two row houses, the individual apartments that will be built between Virgil Michael House and St. Boniface Hall before next fall.
"Given the rising enrollment numbers and housing problems, the Corporation of the Order of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University decided the row houses needed to be done in the fall," said Jim Hardwick, Associate Dean of Students at SJU.
With this knowledge, the college then needed to look at all the renovations projects in order to obtain for one consolidated bond rather than two smaller bonds, which changed the financing for everything. Over the next couple of years, offices will be reshuffling to accommodate the renovations.
"This is going to be a huge transition, but the outcome will please people," said Hardwick. "Hopefully, everyone's going to gain something out of the move that's going to make their operation better for students."
When Sexton Tower is complete, the fourth floor will consist of meeting rooms and a study area as well as a view of the SJU campus and surrounding area. The Joint Events Council and the Saint John's Senate will be sharing equal space on third floor.
The second floor, which is currently used for meetings, will be converted to Student Activities offices, over which Matt Caires, the new Assistant Director for Student Activities and Leadership Development, will preside. Contrary to rumored predictions,
a coffee shop will not be built anywhere in Sexton.
Ground floor Mary will have a completely different look. KJNB radio station is moving to the basement of the Old Gym; in preparation, members of the executive staff have, in coordination with builders, already set to work with plans to build new studios in that area.
Also, the renovations will include moving the present hallway to the opposite side to allow office space to utilize the natural light coming in from those windows.
KJNB will be taking offices formerly used by Counseling and Career Services for interview rooms for prospective employers. Counseling and Career Services will be moving their entire operation to Mary Hall, thus negating the need for the offices in the Old Gym as well as the offices located in different areas of the Quad.
"We're spread out in a few different places, and it's exciting to think we can have that all pulled together," said Heidi Harlander, Director of Career Services.
Counseling and Career Services include career counseling, interview rooms, the Career Resource Center, the Outdoor Leadership Center, Peer Resource Program, Student Advocates Against Sexual Violence and Health Initiative. Thus, a large area is needed to provide space for everything. 'It's important for students to know what's all under our umbrella," said Harlander, expressing the importance of consolidation.
Harlander noted that with the new space, they would be able to facilitate volunteer organizations. "We don't have that kind of space right now."
The offices currently housed by ground floor Mary will move to several different places on campus. Housing and Residential Life is moving to the present Campus Life office suite. Campus Video will move to the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Hall into an office space that was built there last summer. Student in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is also moving to Tommy Basement.
The Hair Razor will move a few
feet to the area of Mary Hall that is now the women's bathroom nearest the post office in order to utilize the plumbing. The men's bathroom next door will be converted to a unisex bathroom. The Record office and the bathrooms behind The Record office will not be affected.
The last of the phases to be completed, first floor Quad will include academic support offices such as the Math Center, the Writing Center, Academic Advising, the Registrar and International Education.
"This is going to be a huge transition, but the outcome will please people"
— Jim Hardwick
When asked how long SJU plans to continue to add buildings, Hardwick alluded to a 100-yr. master plan formed for SJU in the early 1960s that has really only come together in the last few years. "It's a constant reinvesting in the students," said Hardwick.
"Can stuff be put together more intentionally to serve students better?"
The construction for Sexton will take place J-term and will be ready at the beginning of Spring Semester. The ground floor of Mary will be complete by commencement this May.
"I think one of the nicest things about the whole project is that all these things are trying to improve things for students," said Hardwick. "If students can concentrate on the outcome, I believe they will be pleased...with the accessibility."
Bill Sexton was the lead donor when Sexton Commons was built in 1993- Sexton Tower had not been in the budget, but the architects built the frame anyway. Sexton always wanted to come back at a later time to help the completion of Sexton Tower, says Hardwick. "Through his generosity and leadership, this whole thing was accomplished." Sexton had donated the money in honor of his parents. It was the first SJU building named after an alum.
¦ From SOA page 1
senate guideline stating that the "CFB will not allow funds, allocated or generated, to be used in any manner contradictory to federal or state law," for some senators, prudence seemed to dictate that an allocation of funds would have been contradictory to that guideline.
Some members of the senate, commented Poindexter, "felt some people may violate federal law while down there."
On Sunday, a motion to fund the SOA trip passed by a vote of six to three. Senators Jason Hirsch, Amanda Pinkert, Brian Roers, Neil Roers, Tina Schochow and Katie Studer voted in favor of the motion. Senators Martin Ahlijah, Becky Cole and Gavin Poindexter voted against.
Senator Katie Studer, Co-Chair of the CFB (Senator Brian Roers is her SJS counterpart), echoed Poindexter's comments.
"When we were looking at this proposal, we knew that students had gone down there in the past and had broken the law," stated Studer, "and it sounded like they weren't discouraging students from doing that again this year." She continued, "we weren't opposed to what they were going down there for...but we felt it was breaking [the new CFB] policy."
"I still feel that it is violating that policy."
While Studer stated, "I don't think it has caused divisions" in the senate, she also said, "I think that we have some issues that we'll be talking about in the future within the two senates" regarding guidelines and how the rest of the senate interprets them.
The Record is the official student newspaper of Saint John's University, also serving the College of Saint Benedict.
The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty or the University administration.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written consent from its editors.
The Record does not necessarily promote the products or services it advertises, and it reserves the right to refuse advertising space.
The next regular issue of The Record will be published on November 16, 2000. The deadline for submissions is November 12, 2000 by 5;00 p.m. Advertising copy is due by 5:00 p.m. on November 12, 2000.
The Record Is printed weekly at The St. Cloud Times.
The Record is a member of the Association of College Presses and the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
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