Keeping Up With ASG: Week Seven Recap

Senate learns of upcoming campus construction projectsMeghan McLaughlin The Santa Clara November 9, 2017Senate members recently learned about the new developments coming to campus and how students can navigate the construction changes caused by these projects.According to a presentation given by Chris Shay, Assistant Vice President for University Operations, there will be a total of five projects beginning in the next year—three main projects were emphasized during his presentation.The most impactful project to campus is the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, slated to break ground in January 2018.This complex will be double the size of the library and will displace STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students to various locations on campus.According to Shay, the energy lab for the new STEM building is being co-developed with sustainability groups.This STEM building will go in the place of the four main engineering buildings: Bannan Hall, Bannan Engineering, Bannan Engineering Laboratories and Murphy Hall, while Heafey-Bergin Hall will be renovated and reused for STEM classes.STEM classes normally operating out of those four main engineering buildings will be moved to Heafey-Bergin—where law school classes are currently being held, Alameda Hall, St. Clare Commons, Daly Science 200 and the garage.The garage is a former garage building just off-campus that will be converted into lab space for STEM students.The law school will move into Charney Hall in March 2018, in the middle of its semester.A remodel of Benson will also take place in the next year. The goal is for Benson to become more of a gathering area open to students 23 hours a day.This will begin with the Bronco atrium. The patio between the Bronco and the bookstore will be enclosed to house additional seating for the Bronco.Especially with this venture, Shay highlighted the concept of retail construction that goes on in places like Westfield Valley Fair.With this form of construction, student traffic will be minimally disturbed. The Bronco will continue to be operational while construction on the Bronco atrium occurs, which begins on January 2018. Mission Bakery, Marketplace, the Bronco and the Cellar Market will be closed early June to midSeptember. Food service for summer conferences and camps will be prepared in Benson kitchen and served in satellite locations. Food alternatives for faculty, staff and students include Adobe Lodge and campus cafes. The South Campus Residence Hall is another project that will begin construction in the next year, the ninth Residential Learning Community at Santa Clara. This residence hall will be formally named in the next six months. A focus group was held this week to identify potential themes. The hall will host 366 beds for first-years and sophomores and will mainly take up the parking lot behind Sobrato Hall.To account for this, a new parking garage will be built underneath this new residence hall. The estimated timeline is for constuction to begin in January 2018 and end in August 2019, in time for the newest crop of incoming students.Vice President Samantha Pérez updated the Senate on the new sexual assault awareness video to replace “Can’t Thread a Moving Needle.”Pérez spoke with a potential donor who gave a generous offer to fund the new video, but whose offer needs to get approved by administration.Pérez also updated the Senate on developments in the distribution of condoms on campus.After a conversation with Jeanne Rosenberger, Vice Provost for Student Life and Dean of Students, Pérez told senators the decision will be up to University President Michael Engh, S.J.Alex Perlman, the Facilities and Operations Committee Chair, shared plans to have a formal Christmas tree lighting. Perlman also had the idea of each RSO making ornaments for the tree.The Senate will meet again during week eight at 7 p.m. in the Williman Room in Benson.Contact Meghan McLaughlin at mmclaughlin@scu.edu or call (408) 554- 4852.