Pubs, entertainment and student organization facilities topped the agenda of those who attended Monday night’s open forum for student input regarding the renovation of space in New South.

“When the Southwest Quadrangle opens next year, the new dining hall will replace New South Dining Hall. The space in the bottom of New South will become a student center. There’s a lot of fundraising to be done for this space, but we need to think about what the students want,” Todd Olson, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said at GUSA’s open meeting to discuss the contents of the new student center.

The Student Association hosted the meeting in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs so that students could brainstorm ideas for the future use of the 35,000 square feet of space on the lower level of New South. “Our main role is to make sure that all student ideas are represented in the new student center. That’s why we had this meeting open to all students. We want to make sure everything is done right,” GUSA President Kaydee Bridges (SFS ’03) said.

This summer, the Student Advisory Group, including members of the Georgetown Program Board, the Corp, GUSA and Core Planning Team had discussions and offered preliminary recommendations for the development of New South’s non-residential space into a student union. The construction would begin in fall 2003.

Members from campus groups came to the meeting to represent their respective group’s interests. “A lot of us came here wanting space for our clubs,” Jenny Cosco (COL ’03), a representative of Georgetown University Dance Company, said.

The students who attended the meeting were initially divided into two groups to deliberate their common interests for the center. The two groups then presented their results and the layout of their plan to the entire group. The Office of Student Affairs also prepared a sheet with floor plans of New South, another sheet containing adjectives that several students had previously used to describe the feel of the future student center, and finally a sheet with a list of different venues that had been considered for the area to help guide the course of the discussion.

Some of the possibilities included a pub, pool hall, bowling alley, movie theater, dance studio or rehearsal space for music and drama. Other ideas were to use the space for a business center or for centralized mailboxes.

Alexander Marquardt (SFS ’03) of GUTV, advocated the use of the New South space for technical facilities for the organization. “We’re looking to build a permanent studio on campus so we don’t have to move our equipment to and from Bulldog Alley where we’ve been operating from. We could then get more professional cameras and produce better programming,” Marquardt said. The group maintained that they would need a space similar to that of Copley Formal Lounge to allow for a main studio, a meeting room and an editing room.

Many students and a faculty representative of the Georgetown Dance Company explained the urgent need for dance space. According to the students, dancers currently rehearse on concrete floors in Yates Field House. Dancing in Yates has not only proven to be inconvenient, as the dancers must bring in portable stereos, but is also unsafe on concrete. “In Ryan Hall, the new $20 million performing arts center, no space for dance was included. New South would be a perfect area for dancing . [and] a dance studio wouldn’t require much space,” Artistic Advisor for the Dance Company Miya Hisaka said.

The groups also considered the placement of an art gallery display within the space. “We could create a multipurpose room with couches, computers, tables and decorate the walls with the art of Georgetown students,” Megan Krug (NHS ’04) said.

The conversation moved on to food. “If we allowed outside franchises to come in, we’d charge rent or get some sort of commission from them if the business benefited the students’ needs,” Olson said. The inclusion of a food venue would help raise funds for the necessary construction of everything else to be included in the student center. “As of right now, [the project] is being funded 100 percent through fundraising – that’s a lot of money to raise,” Bridges said. “And even if we raise enough now, we have to think of the future . for [repairs] and for staff, for security, things like that.”

Bridges said franchises would generate a consistent supply of funds and would keep costs to students down. “The plus is that students wouldn’t have to pay fees,” Bridges said.

The students decided that in the best interests of the students, a pub-style restaurant, a pool hall and an arcade would provide the most entertainment. This would also allow the consumption of alcohol on campus in a controlled, safe environment, instead of in a bar on M Street, which would require a walk back to campus.

When the two groups presented their results, the decisions were fairly similar. Both agreed that the student center should include performance spaces, a lounge, a pub or set of restaurants, a student meeting space and a communications center for GUTV and WGTB radio. One group also proposed moving student bands and chamber ensembles into rehearsal space in New South.

This meeting was one of several steps toward the completion of a student center that coordinators hope will both entertain and serve the needs of students at Georgetown.