This September has brought a greater number of students to Wilfrid Laurier University than in years past and the perception that campus is more crowded than ever before has emerged among those fighting the lines and encountering hallways flooded with students.
โI wouldnโt say itโs extreme,โ said Wilfrid Laurier University Studentsโ Union (WLUSU) president Kyle Walker, โbut it has definitely become more of a problem over the years that Iโve been here, this year especially.โ
When asked if the campus itself is overcrowded, however, assistant vice-president of physical resources Gary Nower replied, โIโm not aware of any overcrowding, where is there overcrowding?โ
โThey can deny that thereโs overcrowding but when you put together a 25-year plan to address it, clearly youโre admitting at that point that thereโs overcrowding,โ said Walker.
He referred to the campus master plan completed last year, which charts development at the university projected over the next two decades.
A space utilization report conducted by the university stated that the only deficiency was a shortage of larger lecture halls.
According to Nower, โOther than that our classrooms are utilized quite well right now.โ
Aware of the prospects of a crowded campus, Laurier president Max Blouw said, โWeโre adding to space, in the meanwhile weโre recognizing that the numbers are up again and we know that we need to more effectively utilize the space.โ
Blouw explained that being short of space is something that comes in bursts. โYou run quite short and then you get a new, big building and you have a fair bit, and then you get some more growth and then youโre short again,โ he said.
There are going to be more students each year and buildings take time to construct. โThe buildings come in step functions whereas the growth itself is fairly smooth.โ
Areas where students congregate have been pinpointed as places on campus where crowding is more visible. New development forecasted in the campus master plan will address space issues.
This includes the expansion of the Arts building to create what will be called the โlearning commonsโ and the construction of the Global Innovation Exchange building on the St. Michaels campus north of University Avenue.
Nower described the learning commons as a solution to shortages of communal areas. โThat would all be student-focused space,โ he said, including study space, student services and areas reminiscent of the current concourse. โIt would be much bigger than the concourse and seem less crowded.โ
The learning commons would provide a single area for student services and other groups including student publications, according to director of student services Dan Dawson.
โAll of us โฆ are busting at the seams and thereโs nowhere to go,โ he said.
The reality of the situation is that in the face of unprecedented growth, infrastructure cannot be built overnight. Most current Laurier students will have graduated before construction begins on the St. Michaelโs campus, one of the first initiatives identified in the campus master plan.
โMy point of view is that it would be close to five years before weโre likely to see anything [built],โ Dawson said.
Asked whether there is an absolute maximum number of students that could be physically accommodated at this campus, Blouw said, โThereโs always a physical cap but … nowhere near to where we are right now.โ