Shortly after the opening of the “hotel-like” Manresa Hall filled with “chic furnishings”, SLU Madrid is embarking on its next step on the journey to expanding. A fifth building has been purchased as an addition to the campus, and students and faculty have a wish-list.
“Anyone can look at the cafeteria between two and three, and see that it’s just, you know, bursting at the seams. We hear that feedback all the time,” said Ashley Jost, Director of Student Life and member of the “Space Committee”.
“We need more space just to hang out. We’re not residential as a campus, so having hangout space is really important if we really want to be a campus where people feel like they can chill,” said Jost.
The building itself is owned by nuns and has been leased to various universities, including SLU when it was first founded in 1967.
Rector Bill Johnson has appointed a Space Committee to oversee the future of the fifth building. The committee itself is composed of five faculty representatives including: Eloy Gomez, Laura Muro, Ashley Jost and Rector Johnson, Reagan Tran serves as the student representative.
“I’m all of the student body perspective in one person, which is a lot of pressure,” said Tran. The goal of the committee is to have an array of campus perspectives represented in the discussion for how the space will be used.
Tran mentioned her plans to reach out directly with the student body to ensure their concerns are a part of the discussion,
“If you want to contribute to a larger discussion, then please let me know if there’s any burning questions or burning doubts or concerns, please reach out,” said Tran. She plans to open a Google Form or survey where students can voice their opinions and be a part of the discussion.
Although much of the information discussed by the Space Committee is confidential, Tran was able to share some things she is keeping in mind while representing the needs of students.
“Something a lot of us are pushing for is more space for students to study in quiet areas but also finding ways to build community. As in having more space in the cafeteria, or having space for clubs to be able to meet designated spaces, rather than having to reserve a bunch of different classrooms.”
This theme of community was echoed throughout the wish lists of students and faculty.
“It would be amazing if we could have a space that student clubs could rent out for meetings and to be in community with each other and to brainstorm,” said Jost. Students and faculty alike seem to share this idea that permanent students and clubs are lacking the necessary space to be fully realized.
Rosana Vivar, a communications professor, brings a perspective of the academic needs of the campus.
“It’d be great to have more computer lab space. When students go to work in the labs to use, for example, Adobe Creative Cloud, they find that the labs are, well, they’re busy with classes,” said Vivar.
Mackenzie O’Leary, a senior Environmental Studies major, shared the sentiments of Jost.
“They wonder why they don’t see permanent students being fully involved on campus, it’s because we don’t have a place to be involved,” said O’Leary. “I hope that [The Space Committee] are thinking about the permanent students who call this campus their home.”
