Six Mile Post

Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Whelma Villaester Cody Bishop signs a student petition to get the conference equipment out of the Solarium.

Two students at GHC's Floyd Campus have created a Facebook group entitled, "Fight to KEEP the Solarium solely for the students!" in response to a recent change in the function of the Solarium.

Psychology major Lori Dotson and nursing major Krupa Patel, both of Rome, said that they were upset with the administration taking over the Solarium and placing the video conferencing equipment in it without any student input.

The Facebook page Dotson and Patel created states that the Solarium "is a quiet, peaceful, comfortable room that students use for many different reasons." At the time of this report there were 167 members in the group.

Randy Pierce, president of GHC, said that the video conferencing equipment was originally housed in the Executive Dining Room.

"The Foundation decided the President's Conference Room was old and worn and it needed remodeling," Pierce said.

The President's conference room and the Executive Dining Room were remodeled into one area. "The Foundation then renamed it the Foundation Executive Dining Room. The Foundation hopes to be able to use this space to further the school's fundraising capabilities," Pierce said.

Pierce stated that the Foundation looked for space to place the video conferencing equipment. It was decided to place it temporarily in the Solarium and later it would be moved to a permanent location in the P.E. Building. The permanent space is not currently being used, but at some point, it will be reconfigured for the video conferencing equipment when funding is available. According to Pierce, there is no money available at this time for this project.

Pierce said that the Solarium is used infrequently by students, but they have free access to it anytime the space isn't scheduled by the administration or student groups on campus.

"I was not included in the discussions about the use of the Solarium but was informed of the decision," said John Spranza, director of Student Life. "I feel like for the immediate future this is the best solution."

Student groups that need to use the space can schedule a time by contacting Christy Twilley, the secretary at the Office of Student Life.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools