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Page 4 The Point News September 25,1989 Campus News SMC's Atew Library A Library With An Atmosphere of Quiet Comfort by Jennifer Garvey No matter how much we’d all like to avoid thinking about it, the library is a substantial part of life here at St. Mary’s. So it is a little distressing to think of the library the way it used to be—dark and drafty, confusing and crowded. Now, however, all of that is changing. Soon, the new library will open and the one we’re all used to will close its doors until next fall. "I think there's no question that itll be a great improvement," said Dr. John Williamson, Director of the Library. And after seeing it, I believe him. The new library is beautiful. The large open spaces with the gentle grey carpeting create the perfect air of quiet comfort. The soft lighting is bright enough to keep you awake, but not so bright that it's distracting. Then there are the windows. Windows everywhere. Big picture windows with breath-taking views of the water. Round windows in the ceiling to catch the sun at every angle. And all around the walls there are window seats with comfortable cushions great for reading (but even better for daydreaming). "We're so proud of this," Deloris Bolmarc, Assistant Director of the Library, confided. "I think it's going to be a great place for the students." Everyone admits that for a while it will be inconvenient. Even after the new buildingis open and fully operational, students will still have to deal with the construction from the renovation of the old library. "They're going to take the walls down and the roof off. They'll change the windows so that everything matches," Dr. nlt's going to be a great place for the students Williamson told me. When the whole project is done, however, there will be a walkway connecting the old part to the new and no one will be able to tell that the buildings were not constructed at the same time. Dr. Williamson is hoping to be able to fill all of this new space with more books and media equipment. The College is clearly interested too. The St. Mary's Foundation is starting a $2 million endowment for the library. Right now, the only new thing that has been purchased is new furniture which hasn't arrived yet. So the old furniture will be moving along with the old books into the new building. Although there won't be any major differences in the operation of the library, there will be new group study rooms, more areas for individual study, and, eventually, there will be an overlook area with cushy chairs (no couches though-Dr. Williamson says couches are used more for sleeping than studying) and light reading in front of the huge picture window at the front of the building. "The idea is to encourage people to read for the sake of reading,” Dr. Williamson explains. Right now that overlook is blocked off because of problems with the floor and chances are it won't be safe for students for some time to come. Now, none of these things mean that doing research for term papers will be a whole lot of fun. But being able to do them in a building that was created just for our comfort and will make going to the library a lot less painful. Site of Science Building Causes Community Uproar by Carolyn Ross In March 1634, the famous ships, the Ark and the Dove, landed at St. Mary's City. In the years afterward a colony was developed, which became the capital of Maryland, the heart of which now lies under the area surrounding Charles Hall on the campus of St. Mary's College. Charles Hall itself is actually located on a site called Gallows Green, where criminals in the 1680s were hung. In June 1987, a public presentation was made revealing the intentions of a "Master Plan" for the revamping of the college campus. This plan, estimated at $29 million for the next ten years, included a new science center which would replace the outdated facilities in Kent Hall. The proposed construction site was directly in front of Gallows Green, the legendary site of the first Protestant Church in Maryland. This summer, as plans for the facility began to accelerate, a voice was heard among the citizens of St. Mary's County. They wanted to stop what they felt was the destruction of hundreds of years of history and the ruin of the area's natural bueaty by the college's expansion plans. The controversy began when a group of people came forward. "They came to the college administration two years after the public viewing and wanted the building moved," says Chris Cihlar, Director of Public Information. According to Katherine W. Barnes of the newly formed Historic St. Mary's City Rescue Coalition, "Citizens were not informed of the public presentations. Charles Hall and the parking lot are already built on the core of the city, we are determined to save what is left." The coalition, started by alumnus Michael Lynch, organized the efforts of a number of local and national preservationists. Their focus of moving the science building was a starting point of opposition against the entire master plan proposal. The Board of Trustees Adhoc Commitee on the Science Center which was created when the debate began. It announced its decision to move the science building to a site north of Fisher Road, after the release of results from an archeological survey of the area. "We hope to remain on schedule and have it (the science center) opened by fall of '92. It's a three and a half year project," says Director of Capital Projects, Chip Jackson. However, because the center is the "key element (in the master plan) we kind have to start over. We have a contract with the architects...we've just changed the given constraints and one of those constraints is that you can't put a building there." So where will it be built? "Somewhere between admissions, the gym and the townhouses," predicts Jackson. Preparations to survey this area have already begun. "There are two phases of investigation," explains Burton Kummferow, Director of the St. Mary's City Commission. The Commission is a state agency which claims to own one-third of the 1200 acre St. Mary's City land tract in conjunction with the Trinity Church Vestry and the college. It is too early to say if this site will be suitable for building, but as Chris Witzgall, student member of the Adhoc Committee puts it, "anywhere you dig on this campus you're going to find [artifacts]." St. Mary’s City is a registered National Landmark and is one of five relatively intact colonial sites in the country. According to Barnes, it is now being considered by the Department of Interior to be labeled an endangered landmark. "We are aware of the college’s need to have this [science] complex. However, we were not going to allow any more of our history be destroyed. In all three meetings (between the coalition and President Lewis and Dr. John Underwood, Vice-President for Planning and Research) we emphasized this. We are very proud of the college and we do not want to see it hurt, but if the college had decided to persist they would have been on a road of self destruction because of all the adverse publicity." St. Mary's College and the history it was originally established to commemorate are conflicting in purpose: one does not want to be held back; the other would like to stay as it is. As Barnes puts it," this land does not belong to any of us, it belongs to the past and it belongs to the future. Our present day role is to protect it and preserve it." Hugh Kaufman__________ EPA Investigator To Speak by Chuck Ridgell After six months of planning, Hugh Kaufman, a founder and Chief Investigator for the Environmental Protection Agency, will be a guest speaker in Lower Charles Hall tonight, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the SGA Speakers Committee. Mr. Kaufman has appeared on the Phil Donahue Show, 50 Minutes, and the Today Show. He has lectured at over fifty universities. His initiatives are the subjects of a number of books, including Mike Brown's Laving Waste. Lue Regenstein's Poisoning of America, and Karl Grossman's The Poison Conspiracy. It was Mr. Kaufman's testimony before Congress that exposed the horrors of Love Cana] and over 1,000 other contamination cases. We are indeed fortunate to be able to bring Mr. Kaufman to St. Mary's College._________
Object Description
Title | Point News, 1989 September 25 |
Date | 1989-09-25 |
Year | 1989 |
Masthead | Point News |
Geographic Coverage | United States -- Maryland -- Saint Marys City |
Subject | St. Mary's College of Maryland - Newspapers |
Type | Text |
Technical Metadata | Digitized at 400 dpi true optical resolution / 256-color grayscale to uncompressed TIFF master files using i2S CopiBook HD 600. Searchable PDF derivatives shown here are downscaled to 150 dpi / Medium quality. |
Repository | St. Mary's College of Maryland Archives ( http://www.smcm.edu/archives/ ) |
Rights | St. Mary's College of Maryland retains all rights to the digital images presented on this website. The SMCM Archives website is intended for educational and research purposes only. |
Date Digital | 2012-05-18 |
Digitized by | Creekside Digital |
File Name | 1989-09-25.pdf |
Description
Title | Page 4 |
FullText | Page 4 The Point News September 25,1989 Campus News SMC's Atew Library A Library With An Atmosphere of Quiet Comfort by Jennifer Garvey No matter how much we’d all like to avoid thinking about it, the library is a substantial part of life here at St. Mary’s. So it is a little distressing to think of the library the way it used to be—dark and drafty, confusing and crowded. Now, however, all of that is changing. Soon, the new library will open and the one we’re all used to will close its doors until next fall. "I think there's no question that itll be a great improvement," said Dr. John Williamson, Director of the Library. And after seeing it, I believe him. The new library is beautiful. The large open spaces with the gentle grey carpeting create the perfect air of quiet comfort. The soft lighting is bright enough to keep you awake, but not so bright that it's distracting. Then there are the windows. Windows everywhere. Big picture windows with breath-taking views of the water. Round windows in the ceiling to catch the sun at every angle. And all around the walls there are window seats with comfortable cushions great for reading (but even better for daydreaming). "We're so proud of this," Deloris Bolmarc, Assistant Director of the Library, confided. "I think it's going to be a great place for the students." Everyone admits that for a while it will be inconvenient. Even after the new buildingis open and fully operational, students will still have to deal with the construction from the renovation of the old library. "They're going to take the walls down and the roof off. They'll change the windows so that everything matches," Dr. nlt's going to be a great place for the students Williamson told me. When the whole project is done, however, there will be a walkway connecting the old part to the new and no one will be able to tell that the buildings were not constructed at the same time. Dr. Williamson is hoping to be able to fill all of this new space with more books and media equipment. The College is clearly interested too. The St. Mary's Foundation is starting a $2 million endowment for the library. Right now, the only new thing that has been purchased is new furniture which hasn't arrived yet. So the old furniture will be moving along with the old books into the new building. Although there won't be any major differences in the operation of the library, there will be new group study rooms, more areas for individual study, and, eventually, there will be an overlook area with cushy chairs (no couches though-Dr. Williamson says couches are used more for sleeping than studying) and light reading in front of the huge picture window at the front of the building. "The idea is to encourage people to read for the sake of reading,” Dr. Williamson explains. Right now that overlook is blocked off because of problems with the floor and chances are it won't be safe for students for some time to come. Now, none of these things mean that doing research for term papers will be a whole lot of fun. But being able to do them in a building that was created just for our comfort and will make going to the library a lot less painful. Site of Science Building Causes Community Uproar by Carolyn Ross In March 1634, the famous ships, the Ark and the Dove, landed at St. Mary's City. In the years afterward a colony was developed, which became the capital of Maryland, the heart of which now lies under the area surrounding Charles Hall on the campus of St. Mary's College. Charles Hall itself is actually located on a site called Gallows Green, where criminals in the 1680s were hung. In June 1987, a public presentation was made revealing the intentions of a "Master Plan" for the revamping of the college campus. This plan, estimated at $29 million for the next ten years, included a new science center which would replace the outdated facilities in Kent Hall. The proposed construction site was directly in front of Gallows Green, the legendary site of the first Protestant Church in Maryland. This summer, as plans for the facility began to accelerate, a voice was heard among the citizens of St. Mary's County. They wanted to stop what they felt was the destruction of hundreds of years of history and the ruin of the area's natural bueaty by the college's expansion plans. The controversy began when a group of people came forward. "They came to the college administration two years after the public viewing and wanted the building moved," says Chris Cihlar, Director of Public Information. According to Katherine W. Barnes of the newly formed Historic St. Mary's City Rescue Coalition, "Citizens were not informed of the public presentations. Charles Hall and the parking lot are already built on the core of the city, we are determined to save what is left." The coalition, started by alumnus Michael Lynch, organized the efforts of a number of local and national preservationists. Their focus of moving the science building was a starting point of opposition against the entire master plan proposal. The Board of Trustees Adhoc Commitee on the Science Center which was created when the debate began. It announced its decision to move the science building to a site north of Fisher Road, after the release of results from an archeological survey of the area. "We hope to remain on schedule and have it (the science center) opened by fall of '92. It's a three and a half year project," says Director of Capital Projects, Chip Jackson. However, because the center is the "key element (in the master plan) we kind have to start over. We have a contract with the architects...we've just changed the given constraints and one of those constraints is that you can't put a building there." So where will it be built? "Somewhere between admissions, the gym and the townhouses," predicts Jackson. Preparations to survey this area have already begun. "There are two phases of investigation," explains Burton Kummferow, Director of the St. Mary's City Commission. The Commission is a state agency which claims to own one-third of the 1200 acre St. Mary's City land tract in conjunction with the Trinity Church Vestry and the college. It is too early to say if this site will be suitable for building, but as Chris Witzgall, student member of the Adhoc Committee puts it, "anywhere you dig on this campus you're going to find [artifacts]." St. Mary’s City is a registered National Landmark and is one of five relatively intact colonial sites in the country. According to Barnes, it is now being considered by the Department of Interior to be labeled an endangered landmark. "We are aware of the college’s need to have this [science] complex. However, we were not going to allow any more of our history be destroyed. In all three meetings (between the coalition and President Lewis and Dr. John Underwood, Vice-President for Planning and Research) we emphasized this. We are very proud of the college and we do not want to see it hurt, but if the college had decided to persist they would have been on a road of self destruction because of all the adverse publicity." St. Mary's College and the history it was originally established to commemorate are conflicting in purpose: one does not want to be held back; the other would like to stay as it is. As Barnes puts it," this land does not belong to any of us, it belongs to the past and it belongs to the future. Our present day role is to protect it and preserve it." Hugh Kaufman__________ EPA Investigator To Speak by Chuck Ridgell After six months of planning, Hugh Kaufman, a founder and Chief Investigator for the Environmental Protection Agency, will be a guest speaker in Lower Charles Hall tonight, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the SGA Speakers Committee. Mr. Kaufman has appeared on the Phil Donahue Show, 50 Minutes, and the Today Show. He has lectured at over fifty universities. His initiatives are the subjects of a number of books, including Mike Brown's Laving Waste. Lue Regenstein's Poisoning of America, and Karl Grossman's The Poison Conspiracy. It was Mr. Kaufman's testimony before Congress that exposed the horrors of Love Cana] and over 1,000 other contamination cases. We are indeed fortunate to be able to bring Mr. Kaufman to St. Mary's College._________ |