Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) accused Carleton’s administration of taking “another step back in providing space for students” in a press release issued Aug. 24, following a university decision to resume control of booking space in the central galleria atrium of the Unicentre.
“Just last year, the administration set up a Starbucks in the middle of that space, and now they are removing even more student-controlled space for clubs and societies,” said Erik Halliwell, CUSA president.
“This is a major loss for students across campus.”
“The galleria space is still available at absolutely no charge for students to use for outreach and other activities,” said Ed Kane, assistant vice-president (university services) in a statement issued Aug. 25.
“The only change being made is that the university will once again assume responsibility for booking and organizing the space.”
Last year, when CUSA was given the responsibility of maintaining the space, “the administration received a number of complaints from student groups who felt that access was being denied to them,” Kane said.
“We recognize there were challenges,” Halliwell said, including one incident where a Humanitarian Organization of Latin American Students (HOLAS) event generated noise complaints from neighbouring classrooms.
“We’re changing our own procedures to ensure that mistakes that happened last year don’t happen this year,” Halliwell said, noting a waiver in the clubs and societies package governing the amount of noise in the atrium.
Halliwell said the Carleton administration was “going to run.