Students want say in Cole’s fate
The NIU community has stepped up to halt the proposed Memorial Hall project.
NIU Graduate Student in anthropology Amy Genova is one of several students fighting for their right to comment on whether to demolish Cole Hall.
A Facebook group she started called “Preserve NIU’s Cole Hall” has grown in membership and a petition has been started. This petition has amassed more than 700 signatures by reaching out to students through Facebook and then getting signatures at the MLK Commons. The petition seeks to give students a right to have a say in the outcome of Cole.
“This is just to make sure that we have that community forum in order to discuss why Cole Hall should or shouldn’t be demolished.” said Genova.
Genova asked for student’s input to be heard. With a few fellow students they wrote a letter to the editor of the Northern Star. She reached out through email, advocating to leaders such as Student Association President Jarvis Purnell about the issue. She has not yet heard back from Purnell. She spoke to the Judy Santacaterina, the adviser for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and with President Peter’s office.
She was consequently informed that Vice President of Student Affairs Brian Hemphill will welcome the petition.
“Whether or not it will be highly considered is another issue,” Genova said.
Mrs. Genova talked to Representative Bob Pritchard, (R-Hinckley) and Brad Burzynski, (R-Clare).
Genova said that both politicians were really supportive. Burzynski stated that the constituent outcry on this issue is unprecedented during his time in office. Genova was informed by Burzynski’s office that the proposed legislation has been placed on hold.
Columnist Ilona Meagher astutely guides the NIU community to look at several examples from history to help with decisions on how to handle a novel local problem.
An NIU Faculty member, associate professor of anthropology Kendall Thu, wrote another letter to the editor of the Star questioning how quickly the decision was rushed through.
Additionally, the NIU Board of Trustees was not consulted.
So our freshman contributor, Sam Brunell, got consulted on the Cole Hall issue but the Board of Trustees didn’t?
All of this adds up to a rushed decision based on NIU’s desire to get as much capital funding as it could get out of this. I don’t blame them for trying to make the school better, I just wish they made some more intelligent decisions through an inclusive process.
The plan to demolish Cole Hall has been losing steam since its inception.
Genova was skeptical about the Illinois governor’s visit, hearing about it after the fact.
“I don’t think there was enough PR,” she said. “It seemed a little bit sneaky in a sense, and a little bit more political in its focus in terms of Blagojevich’s message rather than really truly caring for the university and what’s best for us.”
Local politicians are distancing themselves from Blagojevich and the teardown plan he announced. What’s ironic is that Blago solicited NIU and this was the university administration’s initial response, not the headline-grabbing, dome-headed governor’s.