Clubs finally learned their fate as club office space allocation was finalized at the Student Government Association (SGA) senate meeting on April 16. After weeks of waiting, 27 clubs received an email from SGA club relations chair Alexandra Engelson congratulating them on their allocation of an office space, which – provided they follow SGA guidelines – they will have for the next two years.
This delay came after the University decided that changes needed to be made to better utilize the space in the Student Center.
The rest of the 43 applicants did not receive a space. However, there were significant structural changes to office allocation.
SGA noted some of the major changes in a press release. “In the small clubs office area (offices 263A-J), office 263A will now become a club storage space for clubs who do not have an office space but still require storage.”
This means that any club that did not receive an office space will now have the space they need to store their club’s equipment.
“Main reasons clubs were not allocated a space was if the committee felt they merely needed storage or a meeting place,” said Engelson. Thus, the creation of this central storage space should help alleviate some stress for many club leaders.
“Club meetings can be held in reserved rooms on campus and are not supposed to be held in office spaces,” added Forrest Gitlin, SGA public relations chair.
The press release continued, “There will be a centralized location for club sports located in the hallway with the Interfaith Center.” The space is room 207, where SGA currently resides.
An email sent from Engelson to club leaders stated that this space will be utilized “as an office for all club sports, a place for storage, and an area where club sports can proudly display their trophies, stats and awards.”
Another major change that will be occurring this upcoming academic year is an interfaith prayer space that will be created in room 201. According to SGA, that space will have different sections where students of different faiths can practice whenever they choose.
“All undergraduate students will have access to this space to comfortably exercise their faith in peace and privacy,” according to the press release.
The Greenhouse in the Student Center has traditionally been utilized as a prayer/service space, but after complaints that the space was not private nor quiet enough, the University and SGA deemed it necessary to make a space that fit the needs of those practicing students.
Although these changes are aimed at bettering the use of the space, there are still 16 club applicants that didn’t get the office space that they applied for.
Engleson explained what the process was in determining whether or not a club should receive an office space. “The process started by determining what clubs we believed needed an office, regardless of how many spaces we had to allocate,” she stated.
“Once we went through every application we decided on what organizations should go where. Then after we created our plans we met with the Dean of Students and we learned of more changes being made to the Student Center.”