Fence raising hell with Fanshawe students
A new fence, which is obstructing many walking paths to and from campus, is causing uproar amongst Fanshawe students.
Many students have expressed their concern with the new metal fence that has been installed around the Fanshawe College campus, especially the portion along Second St. The installation of the fence had blocked-off a well-traveled pathway used by hundreds of Fanshawe students living in the surrounding off-campus area.
An individual, or group of individuals, took matters in their own hands last week and removed a portion of the fence directly across from the crosswalk at Fleming Drive. Currently, portions of the fence are still missing.
President of the Fanshawe Student Union, Christine Thomson said that removing the section of the fence down was probably not the best method for handling the situation.
"Obviously I understand the frustration with the fence up and I have been told by many students, but I don't think ripping it down is going to solve anything," Thomson said. "I mean the college is going to get the money from the same fee, so unfortunately I don't think that was the right way to go about your frustrations with the fence."
Thomson added that $10 of student's tuition fees per semester is put towards the Campus Improvement Fee, which was the main source of funding for the fence.
The erection of the fence on campus caused an up-roar at the college amongst the student population. This concern led to the creation of two public groups on the popular networking website FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com).
The two groups created were called "PROJECT TAKE DOWN FANSHAWE FENCE!" and "Fuck That Fanshawe Fence!!!!" The latter having approximately 886 members in the group and the first with 225 members, mostly from the Fanshawe network on FaceBook.
"When you go to the group it has several hundred members so it just goes to show that it is obviously frustrating a large number of the student population on campus," Thomson said.
Included in the public wall posts in the aforementioned FaceBook groups, several students expressed their concern with the erection of the fence including, longer walks as a result, the unnecessary use of tuition fees, and the result of Fanshawe resembling an unwelcoming prison due to the fence.
Several students voiced their wide-ranges of opinions on the Face Book group's wall posting option.
"People's money went to putting this fence up and clearly were not told about it," Courtney Rosa said on a wall posting dated January 31. "Also, for my program we have studio times at every time of night and sometimes we have to walk to the school at 2 a.m. Some girls in our program don't feel comfortable not being able to get into the school quickly at these times."
According to the College lengthy discussions were had among external consultants and staff in Health and Safety, Facilities Planning and Development, and Campus Security regarding the pedestrian access to the campus.
Manager of Marketing and Communications, Emily Marcoccia said that after considering many factors, it became apparent that limiting access along Second St. to the main entrance provided the best risk management option to promote personal security and safety of students accessing the Campus overall, especially after hours.
Vandalism to the greenhouse, break and enter into parked vehicles on campus, and deterring inappropriate behaviour and disturbances caused by people commuting between off-campus and on-campus residences and pubs, among others, are some of the occurrences that are hoped to be controlled as a result of the fence installation, according to Marcocca.
Thomson said she met with college officials on February 6 to discuss the fence issue.
"What we (FSU) feel is that creating an opening at the Second Street entrance at the crosswalk is more than fair, as it is a city built crosswalk to enable students to cross safely to classes," Thomson said in an email. "Currently there is an opening there, though man made, and not included in the plans when the fence was closed last week. We have asked the College to make this a permanent opening for students in the Fleming area, whether there is a gate, or just a section where there are no bars, period.
"Sr. Administration feels this is a reasonable request and will be investigating with Facilities Management to see if this is plausible. They have agreed to keep the opening open and not close it off until we can find a solution to this situation," she added.
Many students have expressed their concern with the new metal fence that has been installed around the Fanshawe College campus, especially the portion along Second St. The installation of the fence had blocked-off a well-traveled pathway used by hundreds of Fanshawe students living in the surrounding off-campus area.
An individual, or group of individuals, took matters in their own hands last week and removed a portion of the fence directly across from the crosswalk at Fleming Drive. Currently, portions of the fence are still missing.
President of the Fanshawe Student Union, Christine Thomson said that removing the section of the fence down was probably not the best method for handling the situation.
"Obviously I understand the frustration with the fence up and I have been told by many students, but I don't think ripping it down is going to solve anything," Thomson said. "I mean the college is going to get the money from the same fee, so unfortunately I don't think that was the right way to go about your frustrations with the fence."
Thomson added that $10 of student's tuition fees per semester is put towards the Campus Improvement Fee, which was the main source of funding for the fence.
The erection of the fence on campus caused an up-roar at the college amongst the student population. This concern led to the creation of two public groups on the popular networking website FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com).
The two groups created were called "PROJECT TAKE DOWN FANSHAWE FENCE!" and "Fuck That Fanshawe Fence!!!!" The latter having approximately 886 members in the group and the first with 225 members, mostly from the Fanshawe network on FaceBook.
"When you go to the group it has several hundred members so it just goes to show that it is obviously frustrating a large number of the student population on campus," Thomson said.
Included in the public wall posts in the aforementioned FaceBook groups, several students expressed their concern with the erection of the fence including, longer walks as a result, the unnecessary use of tuition fees, and the result of Fanshawe resembling an unwelcoming prison due to the fence.
Several students voiced their wide-ranges of opinions on the Face Book group's wall posting option.
"People's money went to putting this fence up and clearly were not told about it," Courtney Rosa said on a wall posting dated January 31. "Also, for my program we have studio times at every time of night and sometimes we have to walk to the school at 2 a.m. Some girls in our program don't feel comfortable not being able to get into the school quickly at these times."
According to the College lengthy discussions were had among external consultants and staff in Health and Safety, Facilities Planning and Development, and Campus Security regarding the pedestrian access to the campus.
Manager of Marketing and Communications, Emily Marcoccia said that after considering many factors, it became apparent that limiting access along Second St. to the main entrance provided the best risk management option to promote personal security and safety of students accessing the Campus overall, especially after hours.
Vandalism to the greenhouse, break and enter into parked vehicles on campus, and deterring inappropriate behaviour and disturbances caused by people commuting between off-campus and on-campus residences and pubs, among others, are some of the occurrences that are hoped to be controlled as a result of the fence installation, according to Marcocca.
Thomson said she met with college officials on February 6 to discuss the fence issue.
"What we (FSU) feel is that creating an opening at the Second Street entrance at the crosswalk is more than fair, as it is a city built crosswalk to enable students to cross safely to classes," Thomson said in an email. "Currently there is an opening there, though man made, and not included in the plans when the fence was closed last week. We have asked the College to make this a permanent opening for students in the Fleming area, whether there is a gate, or just a section where there are no bars, period.
"Sr. Administration feels this is a reasonable request and will be investigating with Facilities Management to see if this is plausible. They have agreed to keep the opening open and not close it off until we can find a solution to this situation," she added.
