Banners bring campus community together – Archive
Written by Keeley Sheehan, Feb 7, 2011, 0 Comments
Damaso Bautista, left, receives a commemorative framed photo
of his banner from Student Government senator, Chuck Terzian,
right, at USFSP’s Harborwalk Banner Celebration on Jan. 25, 2011.
Keeley Sheehan
Managing Editor
Members of the USF St. Petersburg community gathered by the Harborwalk fountain Tuesday, January 25th to officially launch the addition of banners depicting students around campus.
Each banner features a picture of a student above a quote from the student about the importance of leadership, academics and community engagement, among others.
Student Government Senator Chuck Terzian proposed the project after visiting another university that had similar banners.
“As I was on campus, I felt connected. I knew who [the students] were, at least as much as you can know from a picture and a couple of lines of text,” Terzian said.
The quotes on the banners reflected values of the university and “created a dialogue,” Terzian said.
As chair of the SG University, Community and Government Affairs committee, he wanted to bring a similar project to USF St. Petersburg to further the feeling of community on campus. The university already had plans for a similar project, and SG and administration worked together, sharing the cost of the project. SG covered half the cost, spending $7,000.
“We worked to refine the vision of it,” Terzian said. “There were a lot of compromises, a lot of last minute changes [but] we implemented a shared vision.”
The banners help to “define a sense of identity on campus; a sense that each of us is here for something greater than ourselves,” Terzian said.
Students were asked to submit a favorite quote last semester to be featured on the banners. On Tuesday, Terzian presented a smaller framed version of each banner photo and quote to the students featured.
Members of the university’s administration spoke at the celebration. Ashok Dhingra, regional vice chancellor for administrative and financial services, said that when he came to USF St. Petersburg almost five years ago, there were few buildings on campus and that “there wasn’t much learning that happened outside the classroom.”
He said the growth within the university and projects like the banners have made USF St. Petersburg feel like a full-fledged university.
“I walk on Harborwalk everyday, and it inspires me, and I think it inspires all of us,” Dhingra said.
Margaret Sullivan, regional chancellor, said the banners would serve to welcome the city of St. Petersburg to the campus.
“We’re more than just a university—we are a community,” Sullivan said. “The responsibility of a great university is to share its values.”
SG Senate President Christian Haas said the banners would have a “lasting impact.”
“It’s really cool to engage in an initiative and see it happen [and] have [SG’s] allocations reflect our values,” he said.
