Fill the space, fill us in

It has been almost a decade since Lerner Hall, touted as a center of activity for students, faculty, staff, and alumni, opened in 1999, but its sixth floor has remained void of any set function. Last year, the University announced that the space will be used to house several offices to make room for a comprehensive advising center. Yet since the announcement, there has been a noticeable silence about the floor’s status. The administration should keep students better informed about the transformation of this badly needed space by providing frequent, detailed updates.

The sixth floor of Lerner has remained vacant since the building originally opened, and the space was never assigned a permanent function. After much debate among student councils, the University announced its plans to transform the floor in a November press release. The release explained that the non-advising offices on the fourth floor of Lerner will move to the sixth floor to make room for a consolidated advising center. It did not mention the project’s anticipated timeline. Since November, the administration has not provided students with any new information. Although Lerner 6 has come up in a few student-council meetings, council members received ambiguous updates about the construction. While administrators may have a rough estimate of the timeline, they have not communicated this with students.

The University must bridge the communication gap about this project to ease students’ frustrations and assure them that concrete steps are being made toward the completion of this much needed improvement. At a recent meeting between Columbia College Student Council and Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin, students were assured that Lerner 6 is a top priority for the University. However, for a top priority, the University has not taken the necessary steps to demonstrate its commitment. Administrators should meet with council representatives to ensure that the entire student body is aware of the specific plans. An updated press release should be sent to the Columbia community, along with additional information about how the construction will affect student and campus life. At the very least, the Lerner Hall Web site should be updated more often. Information about the construction timeframe would quell student concerns that their requests for additional space and better advising continue to go unheard, even if the timeframe is only an estimate. When a project directly impacts major areas of student life, like advising and student-group space, the University has a responsibility to provide students with up-to-date information.

Students should not be kept in the dark on a project that aims to improve the quality of academic and extracurricular life. Council members have made it clear that the student body anxiously awaits a timely completion of Lerner 6. After years of debate over Lerner 6’s use, students deserve to hear from the administration about the steps it is taking to resolve this long-standing problem.