LUCC is currently considering a proposal from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to have a sand court installed in the quad over the summer. The court would be finished in the fall.
The new court would serve as a replacement for a similar one that used to sit between the Sage and Trever residence halls. The old court’s removal was a necessity for the construction of the new Warch Campus Center, set to open next fall.
SAAC co-chair junior Emily Mohr said that the previous volleyball court was a popular feature of campus, used by a wide range of students and groups beyond varsity athletics. In addition to being available to anyone for informal fun, the court was used for a number of spring events including Southeast Side Days as well as academic departments’ end-of-year celebrations.
With an abundance of projects in progress and no such abundance of money on its hands, the university did not plan to build another court. If certain members of SAAC had not decided that replacing the court was both possible and highly desirable for the Lawrence community.
Beginning last fall, an informal group within SAAC began meeting under the leadership and organization of senior Tara Carmody to investigate what it would take to get a court installed. Representatives met with Dean of Students Nancy Truesdell as well as with LUCC to work out a plan.
If the project is approved, the court will be located on the east side of the quad, between Draheim and the Sigma Phi Epsilon house. According to Mohr, this was determined to be the only feasible location on campus. She cited both streets and buildings with windows as limiting factors.
SAAC estimates the total cost of installing the court would be between $4,000 and $5,000, including a contractor’s fee. After consideration, LUCC recommended contracting with a company in order to prevent any part of the burden falling on the university’s grounds crew. All work on the project would occur over summer break.
The request for funding first came to LUCC at its last meeting, and it has been tabled to allow time for more campus discussion. No disapproval has been voiced thus far.
However, Mohr, who also serves on the LUCC finance committee, said the group is “looking for a more obvious consensus” from the student body at large. The proposal will come before the general council again at its Monday afternoon meeting.
In the meantime, LUCC will be awaiting feedback. Mohr stressed that students with strong positive or negative opinions about the new volleyball court should make their known to their LUCC representatives in the next few days.
Mohr described the old sand court as “a place where [students] could come together for a good time and a little healthy competition,” and suggested that a new one would promote community on campus. “SAAC hopes that this court could provide what [the old one] once did for Lawrence University.
Volleyball court awaits LUCC approval
