Briefs: Arts funding rejected, campus pool needs $500,000 repairs, speakers to present about sustainability
Written by Crow's Nest Staff, Apr 10, 2012, 0 Comments
From the news desk
A Student Government bill that set aside $7,000 for the purchase and display of art on campus has been rejected by administration.
Noreen Noonan, the regional vice chancellor for academic affairs, felt uncomfortable taking the money from the student legislature, said SG President Courtney Parish.
The major provision of the arts bill, the creation of a committee for the selection of campus art, will proceed.
Although funding for campus buildings already includes money for the purchase of artwork, the $7,000 included with the bill was designed as seed money to cut through “red tape,” said bill co-sponsor Sen. Michael Jernigan.
The pool behind Coquina Hall is sinking, reported SG President Courtney Parish.
The pool, built in 1939, will require $500,000 to repair. Administration will cover half of the cost with the other half expected to come from Student Government reserves.
The quarter-million dollars was included in the executive branch’s proposed budget for next year.
The repair will have to occur sooner or later, Parish told the Senate, as the pool is losing chemicals through leaks.
The university tried and failed to secure funding from the state, Parish said, as a significant amount of capital improvement money has been granted to Polytechnic, which is awaiting the governor’s signature to become Florida’s 12th public university.
Student Life Director Matthew Morrin said he wanted to make it clear that the sinking was “not an official sink hole” and the pool is currently safe.
Proponents of sustainability say it is a framework for making far-reaching decisions, rather than a rebranding of environmental do-gooding.
Sustainability can be a catalyst for critical thinking that leads to a greater ability to compete in a global market and the power to cause change in local communities.
An event hosted by the Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership called “The Sustainability Imperative: Catalyzing Higher Education” in Harbor Hall on April 16, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will feature guest speakers followed by refreshments and a roundtable discussion.
St. Petersburg Councilmember Karl Nurse will be joined by Public Work Director Mike Connors. Dave Newport, the director of the Environmental Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder will also give a presentation.
