Task force acts on recommendation to improve student space

c ourtesy of York media relations

These mock-ups of a future Vari Hall may become a reality once the designs are approved by the administration.

York striving to make suggestions a reality

Vari Hall makeover set for 2010

Vari Hall has a reputation for various forms of student activity, but a proposed renovation plan by the Task Force on Student Life, Learning and Community might see the space change dramatically.
    Robert Tiffin, York’s vice-president of students, said that the proposed change would turn Vari Hall into a more student-friendly environment.

We have [ . . . ]arranged for an architect to put together a design vision

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    The task force originally gave their recommendations to York in August. Those recommendations have since been reviewed and passed by York president Mamdouh Shoukri.
One of the top suggestions was to improve student spaces on campus, and the task force felt that Vari Hall was a good place to start.
   “What we have done is arranged for an architect to put together a design vision that could demonstrate what Vari Hall could look like,” said Tiffin.
   At the end of October, architect Patrick Saavedra presented three design plans to the student roundtable, which encompasses the presidents of the elected student organizations, including the individual college councils, the Graduate Students’ Association and the York Federation of Students.
    Starting Nov. 18, the university will be setting up a table with visuals in Vari Hall to ask students about the three designs that Saavedra has planned.
   “We want students to comment on what they like and don’t like about the various designs,” said Tiffin.
    Some of the ideas include having a student lounge on a raised platform or creating an information kiosk in the centre of Vari Hall. The plan is not just to update the ground floor of the building, but also to renovate the second and third floors.
   Tiffin said that the designs for the plan will not be completely approved until 2010 and that any possible renovations will not be ready until next year.

The task force also had several other recommendations for York administration, including:

• Renaming the student code of conduct

• More effective communication between the York administration and students

• Better security enforcement • Hiring officers for education as well as anti-racism and cultural awareness training