Wrong time for building; SU priorities misguided
Syracuse University submitted plans to the Syracuse City Planning Commission Dec. 23 to construct a new campus bookstore, gym and retail space on the 600 block of University Avenue.
This ambitious 123,768-square-foot building is a keen recognition by the administration of some of the university’s deteriorating campus facilities. The main fitness center, Archbold Gymnasium, is in need of repair and student need is close to overstepping its capacity. The Schine Student Center, in appearance alone, doesn’t have the look of a higher-level university like the modern appearance of a university like Penn State, not even considering the services.
But why now? And why there?
In an economic climate where the university recently laid off 48 employees, eliminated 71 unfilled positions and is ‘unable’ to fund students’ requests for financial aid, it doesn’t make sense to start the construction of another building on campus, much less one this size.
Many universities are hunkering down and prioritizing the cuts their schools will make. This move says a lot about the priorities of the SU administration. The reason universities are seen as an asset to a struggling economy is their ability to put out an innovative working class. If the administration keeps spending money on buildings (especially ones not related to academia) and keeps leaving students by the wayside, the administration could reduce SU’s role as an asset to the public as a learning institution. Furthermore, it would be nice to have a place to shop and work out near campus, but what about modernizing things relevant to students, like Crouse College, or even Schine itself.
And why there? The planned building location is in a bizarre place relative to the rest of the university. The new bookstore would be past Follets, the other main bookstore on campus, and be distant to almost every major dorm. SU shouldn’t extend the size of its campus unnecessarily, especially when one of the assets of its assets is a highly centralized main campus with most buildings within a 10-minute walk. SU should take advantage of the underused space in the Schine Student Center, like the Jabberwocky Café and the Schine Underground, before it sprawls out further away from current student activity.
