By Editorial Board
The administration has dedicated an enormous amount of money and space to increase the amount of academic classrooms and faculty o5ces on campus. These additions were a necessity for our growing community; however, student clubs and organizations continue to be overlooked.
The administrations’ neglect of clubs and organizations is not a recent issue. In 2006, when the McCarthy Center was renovated, about 550 square feet of club space was lost. Both students and faculty signed petitions asking for the administration to review the blueprint of the McCarthy Center renovations to make more space for student groups and organizations. These petitions were published in the May 12, 2006, issue of The Gatepost.
Student space has decreased with the growing student population. As more clubs form and more students join, it has become apparent that there are not enough clubrooms available for student use. There are 53 CollegiateLink-registered clubs and organizations on campus. This does not include the clubs that are trying to be established.
Student clubs such as the Pride Alliance and Vagina Monologues share the same space at adjacent times, forcing one club to cut its meeting short in order to allow the other access to the space.
With the new construction of several classrooms and o5ce space for faculty in O’Connor Hall, there should be more room for clubs available on campus, particularly in the McCarthy Center.
There are three classrooms on the fourth floor of the McCarthy Center that could be dedicated to club use. Conveniently, these rooms are located on the same floor as two clubrooms, the offices of SGA, SUAB, The Gatepost and the WDJM radio station.
Club Room III, which is located on the fifth floor of the McCarthy Center, is an embarrassment. The room – adorned with garishly mismatched furniture including multicolored tables and chairs, a piano and couches from the student lounge – could be put to better use.
We at The Gatepost have ourselves had issues with club space, particularly when it comes to our Thursday night copy-editing sessions. Rooms that The Gatepost has rented out specifically for Thursday nights are often filled with other clubs and students trying to find space to meet.
While it is wonderful that classroom and faculty spaces are gaining 45 offices, six classrooms, nine meeting rooms and 10 seminar rooms because of the renovations to O’Connor Hall, co-curricular organizations are still being neglected.
We at The Gatepost hope when Fall 2016 rolls around, and new classrooms are available for use in O’Connor Hall, that the administration will make the wise decision to convert the three classrooms on the fourth floor of McCarthy to clubrooms for the benefit of organizations in need.
Student involvement is vital to not only students’ success, but to the community’s as a whole. We hope the FSU administration will choose to invest in that success.