By Jeff McCann
We have spent the better part of this term of office talking about student space. We know we don’t have enough of this, that, or the other thing. So then what do undergraduate students care about? I believe it to be a massive mix of things, meaning SFU needs lots of different spaces to meet students’ needs. We know we need a SUB, we know students want a SUB, we’ve had surveys and consultations to double check and triple check, yet there are suddenly reservations.
It seems like two concerns exist about Build SFU: first,some are surprised that the SFSS has ever talked about a SUB, and second is the price tag.
The surprise bit has much to do with the word ‘consultation,’ which is a meaningless word after being thrown around recklessly at forum meetings.
So let’s talk about consultation. Have you ever noticed that the second floor of the library is always packed? How about the worn down couches at the top of the stairs near C9001? I don’t know who sits there but they are always full. And those couches are brutal; we all know this but we just chalk it up to another thing that sucks about SFU.
Did I need to launch a massive survey to tell me that those worn down ugly couches are always being used? Or that the dance clubs are practicing in the cafeteria, or that the second floor is always packed, or that it sucks to watch a game from the grassy hill? No. I just showed up and looked around. But in 2011 and 2012 we did two massive surveys, with email exposure and lucrative prizes to make sure students were consulted. Not to mention 40 hours a week of consultation in the Think Tank from now and for the next five years through the design and building phases that will continue to occur.
As a matter of fact, since 2006, the undergraduate student body as a whole has been consulted. Does that mean you? Maybe not. You may have ignored the last email survey in 2011, or didn’t stop to talk to somebody with a clipboard in 2009. You may have been at a different post-secondary school in 2007, or maybe even in high school in 2006. So, consultation has happened. It has been rigorous and we are at the end of stage one which means it is time for this question to be on the ballot.
The price tag is the second thing people have talked about. Buildings cost money. Some students have asked me if I considered asking the alumni for money. Do you think I would rather this building be free or student funded? Free, of course! We have considered every possible access to funding but it just isn’t out there. If it is out there, we will happily accept it and it will go directly to the principal (rather than interest), meaning students will pay less. In the grand scheme of your $30,000 education would you rather not be frustrated daily with the lack of facilities? We simply cannot count on a handout from our parents anymore, so instead we’re moving out and paying rent.
The Build SFU proposal will hit the ground running because we have the shell of the building to work with. We can save money by having both the SUB and stadium in the same location, and everybody wins. We have a new place for orientation, for concerts, or other student events. It’s sustainable in an inventive way by recycling a building, and it will be LEED Gold certified. It will have all the student space we need, and it will be a bright and open extracurricular hub for campus.
So I propose we change the conversation away from that other stuff and make it really simple for everybody. If you think that the next 10 generations of students should suffer doing five laps of the library to find a place to sit, then vote ‘no’.
If, when you came to SFU, you wished there was more study space, meeting rooms, lounge space, food options, dance studios, safe spaces, and some real community at SFU, vote ‘yes’.
That’s all it comes down to. You may feel one way or another about consultation, or the price tag, or that it snowed last week, but that has absolutely nothing to do with voting ‘yes’ for more student space, or ‘no’ for a forever lame SFU.
I say vote yes to the student union building, and yes to reinventing the campus community.
