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By MELISSA DOUCETTE

In a few short years, the Barn, one of UPEI’s most rec- ognizable features, will be no more. Since UPEI’s inception, the Barn has been the home of the UPEI Student Union (SU).

The Barn was only sup- posed to be the temporary headquarters of the union. However, twenty-eight years later, students are still solidly entrenched in the building that once housed the livestock of St. Dunstan’s.

But by the year 2000, a new union building is slated to begin construction. Finally, the students will have a perma- nent home.

In its first years, the Barn adequately served the needs of UPEI students. Pedestrian traffic patterns were much dif- ferent years ago, and the Barn was in the path of many trav- ellers. Temporary classrooms were located near the student centre, and to drop by the Barn was a common occurrence.

As the years went by and buildings sprung up, traffic patterns changed. It was no

17 November 1998

longer as convenient for stu- dents to frequent the Barn. Also, the building was never logistically adequate. By the late eighties, the Barn’s short- comings were becoming harder to ignore.

During this period, the administration asked the SU what kind of space they needed.

According to Heather Love, SU General Manager, “a process of self-analysis” ensued. These reflections saw the union conclude that a new building was needed. The next questions the SU asked itself were where, when, and how.

By the early nineties, the union needed money to under- take what was certain to be a costly project. Fundraising be- gan with the implementation of a student fee, and the un- ion’s efforts were later aided by the university administra- tion.

The union participated in the Potential Within campaign, which raised money for the construction of the KC Irving building and the renovation of Cass and Memorial. In return,

the university donated the pro- ceeds of the sale of the Presi- dent’s house to the union, which raised funds in the area of $250,000. Before the sale, UPEI owned a residence that every president could occupy, much like a lieutenant gover- nor’s mansion.

By 1996, the union was showing that it had a serious commitment towards the new student centre. However, try- ing to finda site would prove to be one of the most difficult

UPEI News _ 3 Barn soon to be replaced by new Student Centre

obstacles to overcome.

From 1990 to 1994, the union had given several site proposals to the University, all of which were rejected. Fi- nally in 1995, acommittee was struck to deal with the SUB 2000 project.

The committee is still in effect, and consists of a fac- ulty representative, the direc- tor of student services, the di- rector of alumni and public relations, the SU president, the SU general manager, an

Site of the future UPE| Student Union building

alumni representative, and a student at large. Unlike previ- ous efforts, this committee is more representative of the entire university community. “That was when it [SUB 2000] became a successful concept,” commented Love. The committee also re- ceived more formal training in project development, making

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-photo by Richard Haines

Renovations near completion for Blanchard Hall

By SUZANNE WILLIAMS

Even in these final stages of the semester, the long- awaited work to improve the heating systems at Blanchard Hall wages on.

According to Mare Braithwaite, the Residence, Food and Conference Serv- ices Manager at UPEI, the iugerrena, are long over-

ue.

“The work should have been done when Blanchard was first constructed,” he said.

Since Blanchard Hall was built in 1973, the heating system has been mediated by one thermostat in the centre of the building, which is control- led by and communicates with

another thermostat located outside.

The struggle to heat the entire dormitory has resulted in colder water and heating temperatures the further away from the central heating source one goes, which has led to numerous complaints through- out the years.

This past winter, plans were finally set to provide a better source of heat to the various apartments. The move to improve the situation came after many letters were sent to former President Elizabeth Epperly due to the cold winter last school year.

The budget forthe work p

was approved last June, and on July 28 a contract was set

up with MacIntyre Plumbing and Heating. The work began in August, and the project was originally intended to last for only six weeks.

Honeywell Control Sys- tems is the company who has been given the job of installing the thermostats in each apart- ment, thereby allowing students tocontrol individual room tem- peratures. They are also in charge of work on the thermo- stats across campus.

As they do not have an excess of staff, the work across campus -- and not just within Blanchard -- has been spread rather thin, resulting ina slower rocess of the entire project being done within the original framework set.

In order to get the work finished before winter sets in, contractors have been rushing to complete their work by let- ting themselves into apart- ments to install thermostats with a skeleton key. This practice has resulted in anger from some students.

“They’re invading our privacy. Although we’ve been warned that they'll come by... they just drop in when they please,” said one current resi- dent of Blanchard Hall, who added that the drilling leaves dust that the workers do not clean. “I wish they would clean up after themselves.”

Sadly enough, for the students who live on the side

of Blanchard which faces the UPEI campus, installing a ther- mostat within the apartment may not be enough to keep the rooms warm through the win- ter.

There are plans for more work to be done regarding the window seals and the insula- tion, which is considered to be phase two of the project, and is not intended to begin until next year.

Hopefully, the occa- sional drilling and the knocking on apartment doors will be fin- ished before the first snow- flakes fall, although a definite ending date has not been re- leased.