April 8, 2016

Cornell Student Assembly Discusses Collegetown Renovations, Increased Lighting on Slope

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The Student Assembly discussed plans to renovate the Schwartz Center plaza in Collegetown and increase lighting on Libe Slope at its meeting Thursday.

After the S.A. Infrastructure Fund Committee gave its final allocation presentation on potential projects, it asked the S.A. to support funding for a variety of campus infrastructure projects based on student proposals. The largest of these requests was for $30,000 of new lighting on the south side of Libe Slope.

If approved by the S.A., the $30,000 allocation will fund just less than half of a University project to install four new gothic style lamp posts along the slope’s south side in the same style as lamp posts installed on the north side of the slope last year, according to SAIF committee member Nicolette Swanbery ’18.

S.A. and SAIFC member Miranda Kasher ’19 explained that due to a lack of lighting “people are afraid of the slope” and additional light on the slope has been “the most common request [we’ve] received.”

S.A. Vice President for Finance Matthew Stefanko ’16 challenged the lighting proposal, arguing that this is a University responsibility.

“It shouldn’t be in the S.A.’s purview and sends a bad message that the S.A. is funding things the University should be funding to increase safety,” Stefanko said.

Kasher disagreed, explaining that with S.A. funds, the new lighting can be installed within the year as opposed to the University’s original three and a half to four year timeline.

The second largest allocation requested by the SAIFC was for a $20,000 allocation to the $500,000 renovation of the plaza in front of the Schwartz Center.

Kasher said this allocation “would not actually fund any of the $500,000, but would be an additional $20,000 to get student input in.”

SAIFC members also made additional smaller allocation requests for new outlets in Green Dragon, more hand dryers around campus, condom dispensers in Noyes Recreation Center, RPCC, Willard Straight Hall, more bathroom stall coat hooks and new waste bins and signage to promote recycling on campus.