Spotted on Campus: Vari Hall Reno

Brittany Goldfield-Rodrigues
Editorial Intern
Students venturing into Vari Hall recently will have come across the newly furnished area in the centre of the large space, soon to become an information desk.

Some students were seen taking advantage of the new change, taking promotional and informational flyers from the desk space; however, some York members say this additional renovation to Vari Hall impedes on student space.
Krisna Saravanamuttu, York Federation of Students (YFS) president, expressed concern over the growing limitations on open space at York.
“It’s a space for social, political and cultural gathering,” he said of Vari Hall. “To be honest, I don’t see the point of constructing it [the desk] in an open student space. There’s already an information kiosk easily found in the Ross Building.”
According to Keith Marnoch, York’s associate director of media relations, the university renovated Vari Hall to create a more welcoming appearance.
“It’s intended to be a way to welcome people from the inside of what we consider the front doors of this university,” said Marnoch. “It’s to be visible and available to students and all community members.”
Jeremy Appel, a third-year philosophy and political sciences major, feels the info desk was mainly erected to discourage student rallies that occur in Vari Hall.
“It’s tricky, because [the rallies] are very disruptive,” said Appel. “But at the same time, Vari Hall was initially designed to promote debate on various issues.”
But the new fixture may not work to prevent such protests anyway, according to some students.
“It’s there and seems kind of stupid,” said Lindsay Adams, first-year sociology student. “But I don’t think that people who care about issues are going to be deterred by those desks there.”
Leoluca Fontana, a third-year criminology major, feels it will help people find where they want to go, because it is easy to get lost on Keele campus.
“People get lost easily. You’ll be able to find your classroom, [the information desk] will make it more organized,” she said. “Or it might go bad and take up space, [but] it can’t make it worse […] it will probably make it better. If there is an information desk, it will be helpful.”
Saravanamuttu said the YFS and York administration have been holding discussions to find a common balance.
“We have engaged in discussions with members of the admin where we can find a healthy compromise, where we can balance the integrity of the institution as well as students’ charter rights to assemble.”
As of Dec. 5, no information personnel could be found near the premises.
With files from Victoria Alarcon and Yuni Kim