Trading spaces in Union stems from space allocations

The ongoing process of space allocation in the William Pitt Union moved one step closer to… The ongoing process of space allocation in the William Pitt Union moved one step closer to completion this month, as the building manager, Christine Chergi, heard the last of the official appeals from student groups.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Dean of Students Jack Daniel appointed Chergi as the immediate interface for student groups voicing complaints about the proposed redistribution of office space.

Chergi conferred with Associate Dean of Student Affairs Birney Harrigan to resolve all appeals. Harrigan and Chergi were to bring cases to Daniel only if they could not be resolved without his input, Daniel said.

But some student groups said having multiple administrators created unnecessary confusion and delays in the procedure.

“They’re just giving us the run-around,” WPTS Station Manager Allison Rowland said before a scheduled meeting with Chergi. WPTS appealed the University’s order that the radio station vacate Room 416 in the Union.

Daniel defended the time it took his fellow executives.

“You can’t expect someone to respond to an appeal in one day,” he said.

According to Rowland, Room 416 is crucial to the operation of WPTS.

“If we lose that room, the radio station is going to take a major step back,” she said. “This is a vital room for media, and we don’t believe there’s any reason for a non-media outlet to come to the fourth floor and breach what we have going here.”

Rowland said that the radio station already willingly gave up space to UPTV, and added that Room 416 is a shared media source, accessed by WPTS, UPTV and The Pitt News.

Harrigan said that she and Chergi had not yet made a final decision concerning the room.

Daniel added that, regardless of the result, in the case of WPTS and in general, some student groups would be upset.

“I can’t satisfy 100 percent of people,” Daniel said, pointing out other groups that he said he visited and received positive responses from, such as the Black Action Society, Rainbow Alliance, Campus Women’s Organization, UPTV and Freedom Mentoring and Leadership Development Honor Society.

Audrey Woosnam, the president of Phi Eta Sigma, said that her organization faced no other problems than those related to the physical act of moving and was not upset with its relocated space.

Todd Ridley, the president of the College of General Studies Student Government, described the process as diplomatic and complex.

“They have plans they have to handle as an administration,” Ridley said. “You have to give, and you receive.”

But some groups said they were asked to give too much.

The Panther Amateur Radio Club lost all of its office space in the Union and resorted to working with the School of Engineering to find a new base of operations, according to the club’s president, Ben Bertz.

Daniel said that the process would move forward once all appeals were heard and decisions were finalized.

“This is just a beginning of what I intend to do,” Daniel said. “We need better space for the [Student Organization Resource Center].”

Daniel also said that he wanted to convert the Union into a better operating, fully functional student center. Part of his plan to do so involved asking Harrigan to visit the University of Virginia and observe its student center.

Harrigan said that after visiting the school, she must first charge a committee at Pitt to formulate recommendations. The committee would then gather student input.

Although Harrigan said she knows who will be on the committee, she would not yet officially announce the appointees.