Updates for the new residential dorm were presented at Student Assembly’s last meeting of the Fall 2014 semester.
“We just completed the phase of schematic design,” David Damon the principal of the project at Perkins+Will. This phase of the process has to do with deciding on the final size and organization of the building, both internally and externally.
The team at Perkins+Will has been designing Pondside IV all semester and their designs are finally beginning to come to life. Detailed designs of the building were presented for the first time to the Student Assembly.
The building is 80,000 square feet and will house 320 students in total. The team will come back to campus in two weeks to present the final details for the design.
Another focus of the presentation was the LLC [Living Learning Community] that the new dorm room incorporates. A faculty member will live in the building, but his presence isn’t that of an RA, more of a learning and study assistant.
“That’s the fabric of what makes it an LLC,” Kent Drake-Deese said. Drake-Deese, the director of Residential life and Housing, has been working closely with the team at Perkins+Will in their design process. Drake-Deese said the faculty that would live in Pondside IV may not even work here yet, it may be a completely new hire.
A large part of this weeks Assembly focused on the implementation of new fines for violations of the Keene State College Student Conduct Policy. Drake-Deese said after the Pumpkin Fest riots there was an outcry by students and parents alike.
“This is a result of your lame student conduct system,” Drake-Deese said was the response of parents and students, “We’re getting very serious about drug and alcohol use.”
Matt Salter, the director of Student Conduct added to Drake-Deese sentiments, “We’re seeing more high risk drinking behavior this year than we’ve ever seen.”
This increase in behavior has made the school rethink their conduct policy. According to Drake-Deese, the school is going to implement fines for drinking violations. He cited other schools conduct policies and found higher fines for violations decreases future offenses.
“We want you to be shocked at the amount when you see it,” Drake-Deese said. He went on to say that a student wouldn’t want to pay the fine again after paying it once. The school is also implementing a three strike policy for alcohol violations, getting rid of the current system which allows for four violations.
The fine for first time violations will be about $180, half the fine the city of Keene fines for alcohol related charges.
In other news, the Yoga Club received a budget for next semester. The group plans to use the money to pay their yoga instructors as well as events they plan to have on Thursdays.
The Dance Team’s funding request of $2,288 dollars was approved, after raising thousands of dollars during numerous fundraisers over the semester. “The team has put in the work just as we’ve asked,” Christine Nigzus the Treasurer of Student Assembly said.
Skyler Frazer can be contacted at sfrazer@keene-equinox.com
