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TAKING A DIP
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Donna S. Gentile and Gaspard Louis of Freespace
Dance perform at Convocation. Freespace Dance is
a New Jersey-based modern dance company. Freespace’s
mission statement says, “. . . we collaborate
and create, teach and encourage, invite and dance.”
KEN HANSEN / UNIVERSITY JOURNAL
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Education building
must pass last stage
By DAVE DeMILLE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL
SUU’s teacher education building was among the recommendations
made by the Capital Facilities Appropriation Subcommittee
Feb. 14 for capital development projects, leaving just
one more hurdle for SUU to leap before receiving funding.
The Executive Legislative Appropriations Committee will
make its final votes by March 5 and determine whether
the new building will be among those recommended development
projects to receive funding.
SUU has been pushing for a new building for five years,
and Greg Stauffer, SUU’s vice president for Administrative
& Financial Services, said the process to obtaining
funding for the building has been an involved one.
“We’re in the last phase of final funding
approval,” Stauffer said. “Once we put the
shovel in the ground, all of the really hard work is actually
over.”
The Appropriations Committee is debating how to divide
the approximate $64 million available for new buildings.
The committee could decide to provide partial funding
for the teacher education building, which would in essence
commit the Legislature to providing the remainder of the
funding at the next session.
Or the committee could provide all of the funding for
the building, although the total amount could be lessened.
College of Education Dean Bruce Barker said the new building,
which would cost an approximate $15 million, could actually
be under construction within a year.
“There is a bonding proposition for $64 million
in funds,” Barker
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said. “We could get $9 million this
year and another $6 million the next. If everything goes
well we could actually start digging by the end of the year,
but that’s pretty optimistic.”
The project was helped by promotion from a number of legislators.
Barker said he was pleased with the progress.
“We owe a great deal of gratitude to all of those
who have been presenting and promoting this project,”
Barker said. “We can’t do enough to show our
appreciation for those who have supported us in this project.”
There are still some hurdles for SUU to overcome, but the
threat of additional cuts to higher education and tax revenue
shortfalls is no longer a primary concern in the project.
In a Feb. 18 letter to
other SUU administration,
SUU President Steven D. Bennion warned that future reductions
could hinder higher education, but thanked the Regents,
institutional presidents, the commissioner’s office,
Dorian Page and his counterparts from other institutions
for “working diligently to avoid this possibility.”“The
legislators have a difficult task because of the downturn
in the economy,” Bennion wrote. “We are strongly
encouraging them to hold higher education harmless on this
latest round of reductions.”
The plan is to begin the process towards actually building
if funding is given, even with just partial funding, which
might seem presumptuous, but the legislature is dedicated
to providing the remaining funding the next year. In fact,
Stauffer said that beginning construction would actually
help push the legislature toward providing the remaining
total when it is available.
“Once you start building they can’t really stop,”
Stauffer said. “The Legislature understands that,
and that’s part of what they’re considering;
they aren’t sure if they want to obligate themselves
for the next session.”
Since SUU agreed to pursue the new building, it has already
created a master plan for the project, developed a Capital
Needs Statement and made presentations to the State Building
Board and the Board of Regents. When both boards made priority
listings that included the new building, it finally went
to Legislature and the Capital Facilities Subcommittee.
Now all of that work hinges on the decision of the Executive
Appropriations Committee, and although confident that funding
will be supplied, Stauffer said that nothing is certain
yet.
“They’re kicking it around right now and it
could change two or three times before March 5,” Stauffer
said. “We might only get so much of the total, or
we might get all of it. Or we could get partial funding,
in which case we could get the total, but only part of it
this year. I’m optimistic, but with the possibility
of change, I’m not out dancing in the streets, assured
that we’re going to get it. It’s just too premature
at this juncture to assume anything.”
If funding is supplied, a project design will be made, and
after all considerations of building code and design are
made the building could be put to contract.
As of March 5, the future of the teacher education building
for this year will be certain.
“We’re thrilled that the need for a new building
was recognized,” Stauffer said. “It would be
great if we could make the next step and move on to the
project design.”
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Students challenge
fee denial
PVA students march into Provost Harraf’s office to give
up $1.50
By KATIE ANDERSON
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL
About 70 students from the College of Performing & Visual
Arts marched single-file into Provost Abe Harraf’s office
Thursday, each placing $1.50 in a box to make a statement to
the administration and students that they are willing to give
up the $1.50 in student fees to support their college.
The protest came after the $1.50 per semester increase in student
fees requested for the College of Performing & Visual Arts
was narrowly denied by SUUSA Senate Tuesday.
As reported in Thursday’s edition of the Journal, President
Steven D. Bennion has the power to overturn the Senate’s
decision.
“Student senate is not the end,” said Sen. Wendy
Milam, College of Performing & Visual Arts. “We hope
the administration takes note of the students who were in here
today.”
The students also presented petitions signed by students willing
to pay the $1.50.
Josh Richardson, Masque Club president, said the purpose of
the march was to prove that they won’t ask of the student
body what they aren’t willing to do themselves.
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“The best way to get the school’s support (so Bennion
can pass the bill) is to show that we’ll make the first
move,” Richardson said.Student support would be a factor
in Bennion overturning the senate’s decision, said SUUSA
President Matt Glazier.
Richardson and Milam both said they think the entire university
would benefit from the increase.
“We honestly feel this is the best for the entire university,
not just for us,” Richardson said.
Glazier was one of the students placing $1.50 in the box, showing
his support for the request.
“I support what was my idea,” he said.
The “idea” comes after a 23.5-percent tuition increase
approval by the Board of Regents in January.
One argument Richardson and Milam present to those who dislike
more fee increases is that the increase would only be the price
of a load of laundry.
Darren Vaughan, a freshman communication major from Moab, agreed.
He said he spends at least $1.50 a day, so he would just get
one less pop out of the vending machine and go to a play instead.
However, for Tanner Higginbotham, a junior finance major from
Richfield, that price on top of the already increased tuition
is too much.
“It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back,”
he said. “I don’t want to pay it . . . I’d
love to progress the college if that’s what they need,
but trying to keep student fees to a minimum should be a goal
for everyone.”
Bennion said the fee increase is a tough issue because the college
puts on so many plays.
But he said there are issues on the other side, too.
“There are strong arguments both for and against the increase,
whether we ought to do it this year or wait,” Bennion
said.
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