Founders College residence may face closure

Jaqueline Perlin
Recruitment Manager
While speculation surrounding the transformation of Founders College into administration space have been raised, student leaders are asking for extra precautions regarding any final decisions.
Robert Cerjanec, Founders College student council president, said that while he was unaware of rumours regarding repurposing the building into administration space, he knows there are currently talks surrounding the closure of Founders College residence.
This is not the first time the residence has been shut down. Cerjanec mentioned that Founders residence was closed two summers ago, and that it was “a very stressful and frustrating time.”
He blamed the closure on reduced student enrolment in college residences, especially at Founders, due to issues such as lack of funding and York’s commuter school status. He noted that if the residence was supposed to close, he would actively try to prevent it from happening.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to see that this residence remains open,” said Cerjanec. “People in residence tend to be a bit more involved and engaged about [residence closure].”
Krisna Saravanamuttu, president of the York Federation of Students (YFS), said he had never heard about issues of conversion.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that issues of potential space conversion – especially student residences – must be ap- proached with caution.
“I think it’s absolutely impor- tant to consult the Founders community. Specifically, it’s im- portant to consult the Founders College Council.”
While there has not been any formal confirmation of any sort of conversion as of yet, York media relations associate director Keith Marnoch said the issue is being looked at.
Excalibur attempted to contact vice-president students Rob Tiffin numerous times for comment, but he could not be reached as of publication.