Provost Barry Scherr discussed the possibility of a new student social space in North Fairbanks Hall and Assembly members distributed a number of faculty awards last night at the Student Assembly's first meeting since general elections were held last week.
Student Body President-elect Janos Marton '04 and Vice President-elect Julia Hildreth '05 also addressed the Assembly briefly during the meeting, though the newly-elected leaders will not begin serving their terms until the fall.
Scherr explained that space in the basement of North Fairbanks Hall -- which is located immediately behind the Massachusetts Row dormitories -- will soon face conversion to either a student-run dance club or a studio for use by the College's Film and Television Studies program and other organizations.
The change is partly in response to a general shortage of space on campus, Scherr said, but is intended to address an "immediate need" for both studio and social spaces.
Though Scherr said a decision on the use of the space could occur "within a week or two," a final determination will hinge on a number of logistical factors and whether a second suitable space can be found.
"We would have to spend reasonable amounts of money to renovate the building" were it to be converted to a dance club, Scherr said, adding that the noise from such a area might interfere with the work of College staff in upstairs offices.
In response to the questions of Assembly members regarding how a new dance club would prove any superior to the poorly-attended Poison Ivy dance club in Collis, Scherr said the new facility would benefit from being farther removed from the center of campus.
"In terms of location, the space is probably best for a dance club," Scherr said. "The ideal of course would be to find a second space."
The space currently houses the Office of Instructional Services and is also used by College photographers, according to Scherr.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Aly Rahim '02 also presented an award to Dean of the Faculty Jamshed Bharucha for his help in demonstrating administrative support for the Undergraduate Teaching Initiative, which was approved by the Assembly last October and has been implemented incrementally over the past several months.
"I cannot remember a Student Assembly that has been as involved with the academic core of the College as this one," said Bharucha, who termed the Assembly's work "extraordinary."
The appearance will likely be the last at such meetings for Bharucha, who after 19 years at the College will be leaving for Tufts University at the end of the academic year.
Professors Mark Williams and Jennifer Tishler received grants as part of the continuing implementation of the UTI.
Williams, a film professor who received a $1,000 grant for his "Cyber-Disciplinarity" course, praised the Assembly for "inspiring the faculty" with the awards, which are given to reward innovative teaching methods.
Tishler, a Russian professor, won the $500 grant for her course "Russian Popular Culture."
The final component of the UTI -- departmental assessments in which each academic department will receive a letter grade for its commitment to undergraduate teaching -- will be officially released at next week's meeting, according to Rahim.
The assessments, which proceeded slowly due to difficulties in obtaining statistical data from departments, "were always going to be the most controversial" of the UTI's components, Rahim said.
Marton and Hildreth also spoke briefly at the close of the gathering to announce an upcoming Thursday meeting in which new elected members of next year's Assembly will be chosen.
