Student Senate hosted an open forum for John Sears, the vice president of Student Affairs and director of Housing and Residential Life, who talked about the upcoming construction project for White Horn Brook.
Sears was accompanied by Kip McMann, an expert on the history and environmental elements of the area. With an estimated start in April of 2017, the goal is to complete the apartments in roughly two years, specifically in April of 2019.
The building meets full federal and state guidelines on handicap-accessibility, as there are two cores of elevators within the building and handicap-accessible entrances. Sears and McMann noted that Hillside Hall is a good comparison in terms of handicap-accessibility.
Sears said that he is looking to work with food services to offer Grab and Go meal options, which is a part of attracting students from other residence halls to integrate into the White Horn Brook community, a staple of the project.
The apartments will be constructed in the vicinity of the area’s parking lot, specifically the western sector. The project will cost the lot anywhere from 250 to 280 parking spots.
This led to concern from Executive Committee Chair Andrew Donnelly, who noted the daily complaints that he receives from students about parking in addition to the fact the school has a large number of students who commute.
“We’re evaluating the parking situations all across the campus and where we can improve,” McMann said.
After the public forum ended, Donnelly talked about the success of the Narragansett Bay Cleanup over the past weekend and how the External Committee is trying to organize a 5K for the area in the spring.
The Senate also voted to recognize Student Senate election results. Senate recognized the newest On-Campus Representatives Connor Devine and Kennedy Tate, Off-Campus Representatives My Vu and Stephanie St. Louis. They also recognized Freshman Representatives Lorraine Guerra, Zachary Taylor, Nicolette St. Amand, Kelly Watha and John Morabito, and At-Large Representatives Alison Flath, Ryan C. McWeeney, Evan Cummiskey, Oloade Ashamu, Danny DePetro and Tristram Howard. The new senators underwent orientation on Oct. 11.