Campus Beautification Committee

From BenningtonWiki

The members of the Campus Beautification Committee (aka the "Look Pretty Committee") are:

Stefan "Big Red" Anderson- 4819,

Peter "Dice" Barnard- 4255,

Sam "Inclement" Clement- 7723,

Heidi "Caramel" Lamar- 4131,

Jami "Slapshot" Marshall-Lively- 4171

This term, we hope to inform the campus of the changes occurring around campus before they happen, as well as find out why these decisions have been made. We are working with Joan Goodrich to have some of our questions answered and provide her with feedback from the student body. Keep in mind that our committee does not make these changes, nor does anyone ask us for approval before they happen. Please feel free to ask questions about what is happening on campus. We will do our best to find an answer.

Here are some things we found out:

• The complete opening of the Student Center (meaning availability of food and alcohol) has been delayed several more weeks. Though the state of Vermont approved the plans months ago, they have recently decided that they are not satisfied with the exhaust system in the kitchen. Until this is approved, we can not obtain a food or alcohol license.

• Construction on the Carriage Barn is now scheduled to begin on November 15 and continue until the end of April. Changes will include remodeling the kitchen and practice spaces, building a new entrance with a terrace, and clearing the surrounding woods of invasive plants.

• Efforts are being made to clear the campus of invasive plants, such as honeysuckle. This includes the large amounts of honeysuckle along the path to Jennings. Also, the school is beginning to plant only trees native to Vermont.

• The tree next to Commons was removed so that a more functional sidewalk could be put in, and also because it was not a species native to Vermont. Another tree will be planted close to Commons, though not in the same spot.

• The Secret Garden was cleared by Rebecca Stickney this summer. She is planning to tuck-point (repair) the east wall, put in new foliage and install new wooden doors. She hopes to make this a more useable space, possibly even for performances. She received the money directly from an alumn and did the project on her own

• We have recently received funding to convert our heating systems from relying on oil (non-renewable) to relying on woodchips (renewable!). This will cost the school $3 million, but it will pay for itself in seven years. An addition to the maintenance building will have to be built. Hopefully this will happen by next fall.

• There are plans to insulate all of the exterior walls in the old houses over this FWT (no insulation between rooms, so no sound insulation). This should help the school save on heating.

Future Projects (as in after we're gone):

• Library addition. The new library will include 24 hour accessible study spaces, a food dispensing area, extended shelf space, the music library, the dance archives, and more. The begin date for this project is unknown, and I'm not sure if there is a set design yet.

• A new Dining facility. This will be located between the new houses and the orchard. Joan hopes to keep multiple dining rooms in the new building as we have now. Unfortunately, our current Dining Hall gives no room for expansion, and has extremely limited kitchen space, which was built in the 1930's. The new facility will give the dining hall staff the ability to make a wider selection of food. This will happen after the library.

• Jennings renovation. Few specifics are known other than that Jennings will be renovated sometime in the future.

• Years ago, elm trees lined both sides of college drive, forming a "green tunnel." These trees were all killed by Dutch Elm disease, though Joan is interested in possibly planting new trees (most likely elms resistant to the disease) to restore this. This will not be for some time, however.