Because of limited space on campus and a growing number of student groups, only a few organizations actually obtain the on-campus space they request.
Several organizations, including Amarna, the College's newest undergraduate society, and Al-Nur, the Muslim student organization, are currently seeking area specifically set aside for their own purposes.
"It's a pretty complex system because buildings are at such a premium," Assistant Dean of Residential Life Bud Beatty said.
Student organizations start the request process by submitting a petition for space to the Dean of the College office. The office then establishes a priority for how to allocate space, Dean of the College Lee Pelton said.
Pelton said his office ranks the groups based on their level of student support and need for a physical plant.
"We do that on a case by case basis," Pelton said. "All of those things are done in the same context. We weigh one request against another request."
Pelton said undergraduate societies, for example, are put at the top of the list because of growing student demand for such organizations.
"If an organization came forward and wanted space for another fraternity, it would not have a high priority," Pelton said. "There is nothing to suggest there is a need for another fraternity with its own facility. There does seem to be a growing interest in these undergraduate societies."
Duncan Hodge '94, one of Amarna's founders, said the administration has been very accommodating to his group's request for a building.
But Amel Amed '96, co-president of Al Nur, said the College has not supported her group's efforts to find space.
"They told us point blank we're not high on the priority list and there's no space," she said. "I'm really offended [Amarna] is at the top of the priority list and we've been shuffled around. It's ridiculous."
Amed said Al Nur has been looking for some sort of space for more than two years. She said the group wants a kitchen and a place for prayer.
There are about 60 Muslim students on campus now and the Islamic faith is the fastest growing religion in the world, she said.
"For the College not to provide any space for Muslim students is really shutting the door on them," she said.
The priority list constructed in the dean's office is forwarded to the Faculty Working Group, a group of administrators that looks at proposals from all the offices on campus and tries to match their needs with the available space, Acting Provost Bruce Pipes said.
The group meets once a week and is chaired by Director of Facilities Planning Gordy DeWitt.
"They look at the space available because most often we have more needs than we have space," Pipes said.
DeWitt said the group is currently evaluating about 25 proposals, from places like the Dean of the College office and the Dean of Faculty office.
Pipes said the group makes non-binding recommendations to the Facilities Advisory Committee, a group of middle-level administrators that DeWitt also chairs.
The Facilities Advisory Committee then makes the final recommendation about what projects should get funding.
The committee looks for "more specific info -who wants it, how will they use it, how will they finance it, when do they need it and how will we pay for it," Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco said.
If the project costs less than $100,000, the College President, Provost or Vice President and Treasurer can approve it, DeWitt said. If the cost is between $100,000 and $500,000, approval must also come from the Provost Council, a group of upper-level administrators chaired by the Provost.
Projects that cost more than $1 million must be approved by the Board of Trustees, DeWitt said.
Often the issue is not whether an organization deserves space, but whether the campus can provide that space, Pipes said.
