Members of the design and project team revealed their ideas moving forward for a master plan to enhance campus life and student convenience at the Pierce College Council (PCC) meeting on Sept. 26.
Design Manager Hyeyoon Chung detailed the two phases of the Pierce master plan. The first phase is called the exploration phase, when the design team will come out and inquire into the current state of the campus, Chung explained. She continued to say that the second phase is when the long-term goals and visions for the campus are discussed.
“The new project that just broke ground is the Academic East building next to parking lot 7,” Chung said. “And then the next one to start is the counterpart to Academic East, but Academic West.”
Project Manager Soufiane Boudiaf explained that near the conclusion of the Academic East and West projects, the demolition of some buildings will begin, as well as the enhancement of the botanical gardens.
Despite the demolition of a handful of buildings, Boudiaf reassured the council that it wouldn’t be just left as flat ground. Those buildings will be replaced with some landscape that best fits the college moving forward, according to Boudiaf.
“One thing that we notice in college is shade,” Boudiaf said. “Where does the occupant or faculty or student sit outside have a little sandwich, work on their computer or wait for a Lyft or Uber to pick them up?”
Deputy Isaac Jorge alerted the PCC that in September there was an uptick in crime. Some of the crimes Jorge listed consisted of vandalism in the parking lot on vehicles, vandalism in classrooms, classroom keys stolen and a burglary in which some tools were taken in an ongoing investigation.
“It’s important to secure your keys,” Jorge said. “Security is not convenient. Leaving it on your desk or in an unlocked drawer is not convenient. These keys are assigned to you, and some of these keys have access to other rooms that have thousands of dollars worth of equipment.”
ASO President Jasmine Minchez announced changes to the ASO bylaws, limiting the amount of money that can be requested, primarily due to the reduced budget ASO is receiving. Minchez explained this would be limited to $1,000 per in-person event and $500 for virtual events. This limit does not apply to events for students to do with student advocacy.
“As of this year, our bylaws have changed and our maximum amount to be requested for any events from any department or club is a thousand dollars,” Minchez said. “This $1,000 is specifically for non-student advocacy events. So if something has to do with student representation or advocacy, the threshold is much higher.”
