As many of you know, The Guilfordian took a stand against the building of the proposed fountain and plaza. We called for a public forum and community action. We are here now to update you on what has been happening.

We did have an open forum with the help of the Conflict Resolution Resource Center on Wed., March 13. There, we met with community members to hear about thoughts on the project as well as to discuss ideas about how to go forward. We decided the best idea would be to gather community ideas about what we (student, faculty and staff) would rather see donor money go towards. Since then, we have tabled and created a survey in order to gather ideas from the community about where money should go.

Here are some items from the list:

Recreation/aesthetics
–pool
–playground
–a track
–instead of fountain, build outdoor seating (gazebo)
–clean the lake
–trampolines
–new sculpture

Financial aid
–help supplement financial aid for students who cannot afford Guilford – first-generation college students, low-income families…
–aid for books and supplies
–give money to humanities and arts departments for scholarships, like the Gilbert award
–give more scholarships
–money towards faculty and staff pay
–provide disability resources
–merit and service-based scholarships

Residence Halls
–remove all black mold from residence buildings
–improve quality of dorms
–repair heating/air conditioning
–fix plumbing

Food
–improve food quality
–find healthier options
–utilize the farm more

Improvements to departments/facilities
–Dana/music department
–upgrades to observatory
–renovate the library
–buy more books
–add more academic departments
–addition to library

Miscellaneous
–one-on-one time between staff and students
–livestock
–solar energy
–ESL teacher
–the internet service

Our next step is to reach out to the administration to start figuring out ways to improve communication between our community (not just students, but faculty, staff and administration) and donors and the board of trustees.

We will keep the community posted on any progress or any new information we learn.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions or just want to help, please email [email protected] and please take our survey at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XCXNC3K

Complied by The Guilfordian Staff