The Council for Intellectual and Cultural Development of the Arts (CICDA) has recently approached the faculty of arts to try and procure more space for the 18 clubs they look over.
The purpose of the club, according to its president, Tom Ebeyer, is to help improve the academic and social lives of arts students and support their various clubs. Arts students pay a fee that supports this effort.
Ebeyer said that CICDA approached the dean of the faculty of arts, Michael Carroll, a few weeks ago in order to secure more space for the 18 associated clubs within the faculty to host private meetings, hold office hours and in general provide a space for the clubs to operate out of.
“Were trying to build a sense of community and strong collaboration within the academic departments and programs in the faculty of arts. We want to provide the space for clubs to come and meet and build a sense of culture.”
Ebeyer said that the jockey to obtain more space comes from input from the various arts clubs on campus.
“Several clubs approached CICDA about the space. While there is selective room available on campus, such as the club and association room by the turret, the space is only available to student clubs when the Students’ Union is not using it, and it fills up quickly for nighttime bookings,” he said.
“Our clubs are upset. They feel like they’re receiving second-hand treatment, especially seeing the space for meetings the business faculty has for their clubs. They see what’s available for business students and feel inferior.”
“It’s a logistical nightmare to organize space on campus; it’s a disaster.”
Carroll explained his take on the request CICDA came to him with.
“I understand the value of student clubs. But student study space is dramatically in short supply on campus. My preference would be to keep it as it is,” he said.
Carroll emphasized that with such a short supply of student study space already, to reallocate the space for student clubs is not a choice.
“It’s unfortunate, but space is in short supply on the Waterloo campus, so choices had to be made. I could not support CICDA’s proposal on those grounds.”
Ebeyer explained that the alternatives Carroll suggested to them were limited in terms of finding space elsewhere.
“He said that maybe in the future in 2015 when the Global Innovation Exchange building is in place we might be able to look there. But that does not solve the issue at hand. We have found the faculty of arts very dismissive,” Ebeyer said.
Moving forward, CICDA will be submitting a proposal to the dean of students, Leanne Holland Brown, to try and get more space through different avenues.
“After the proposal on Friday, we will see what the next step the university takes is and go from there,” said Ebeyer.
If the proposal is turned down, Ebeyer hinted it would do little to deter them from seeking out more space.
“As long as our needs are met we are open to seeing where we can go. However that is a worst-case scenario. Our purpose of having space here is to build community in the faculty of arts and having a room in one of our faculties’ buildings contributes to that.”
“In the end, however, we are not going to back down.”
