With construction delays forcing the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) constituents to find scattered spaces across campus, members of the college asserted their demands for proper and connected academic spaces in a town hall meeting with university officials in Gimenez Gallery yesterday.
CAL students currently have very few dedicated spaces within the university, often having to make do with the CAL New Building, which is far smaller than other academic UP buildings, and a pavilion in Palma Hall.
Graduate students are also pinched for space due to the delayed completion of the Main Library. Both the Main and CAL Libraries no longer store additional dissertations from CAL that graduate students need to reference, which means they have to make do with the two chairs of the CAL graduate office to conduct their scholarship.
Delays of multiple flagship infrastructure projects such as the Faculty Center have also relegated CAL departments to a mere office and lounge each. The cramped conditions mean that not all professors can stay in the office, and those who do cannot hold meetings simultaneously.
Worse yet, the expected completion of the Faculty Center late next year might not provide enough room for the faculty it's supposed to serve. Professors said the university previously promised them the lion’s share of the building. But the center is now poised to house several offices of the university administration instead.
While CAL faculty members were given spaces in the Acacia Residence Hall, they bared that its distance from the CAL New Building prevents those with health and mobility problems from using it effectively.
“It is disheartening to note that CAL currently lacks essential amenities, such as dedicated faculty offices, designated spaces for student gatherings (tambayan), and additional library and seminar facilities,” the college said in a Facebook post.
To address the lack of space, rooms inside the Student Union Building were turned into classrooms for CAL this semester. But this was done haphazardly–one professor noted that the last-minute decision forced him to procure his own whiteboards and LCD projectors for his classes.
Other solutions were proposed in the meeting, such as giving the faculty space in DiliMall. A sensing form was passed to CAL faculty asking whether they agree to use DiliMall as a temporary space for the college: 42.7 percent said yes, 37.5 percent said no, and 19.8 percent are still unsure.
CAL is now also asking for rooms in Melchor Hall, which houses the engineering departments. But their use is still subject to the approval of Engineering Dean Maria Antonia Tanchuling, which Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan said could be provided before the end of October.
Some faculty members, however, expressed their doubt about the CAL-Melchor partnership. Former CAL Dean Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete recounted that in 2016, the partnership did not work effectively as the rooms allotted to CAL were laboratory rooms that are not fit for the college’s use.
The professors still insist that having a building of their own is the best possible solution. Vice President for Development Daniel Peckley Jr. flaunted during the town hall the new building being constructed for CAL near the Vargas Museum.
But college faculty said that a more immediate response on providing proper spaces from the university is needed, instead of promises of future big infrastructure projects that would be finished years from now, and are bound to be delayed.
“This absence of vital resources hinders the academic pursuits of the faculty and students and compromises the overall educational experience within such a historically significant institution,” CAL said. ●
