As former Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Neil DiBiase sees it, the elusive third phase of campus center construction could soon become a reality – with the help of some recovered funds.
The construction could double the space in the campus center and turn it into the type of central social space that many feel is lacking at Tufts, he says.
"It's embarrassing," DiBiase said of the Mayer Campus Center in an interview with the Daily. "It's really embarrassing for a school of our caliber."
The TCU Senate held a town hall meeting yesterday dedicated to receiving students' input on how the body should allocate the over $700,000 it has on hand after restitution for alleged embezzlement in the Office of Student Activities. DiBiase proposed last night that the TCU Senate invest in improving the campus center as a show of commitment.
He said that trustees, alumni and other donors care about the campus center, but a show of student support may convince them to start pumping funds into the project.
"I've talked with a few members of the Board of Trustees. I think this really is a game changer," he said. "I really think putting money and saying, ‘This is a student commitment … Where is the commitment from the [trustees] and the administration?' is a really powerful statement."
DiBiase's idea was one of a string presented at yesterday's meeting, which took place in Hotung Café. Popular suggestions such as the implementation of campus-wide wireless Internet access and providing funding for the Tufts Mountain Club's planned Trips Cabin also surfaced. So did fresh proposals for a scholarship fund and increased lighting on campus.
"I think it was a worthwhile meeting," TCU Treasurer Matt Shapanka said. "We met our goal, which was to solicit feedback from members of the community."
The campus center's phase one was the construction of the building; Jumbo Express and the bookstore were added during phase two. But plans for the third leg have dragged as the university prioritizes other initiatives.
"I don't think that the university is not committed to these issues," DiBiase said. "But I think that by demonstrating student desire and commitment to this project through the recovered funds, I really think that we can demonstrate to the administration that this is something that students really feel passionate about."
DiBiase said schools such as Boston University and Northeastern University have recognized the need for a central space conducive to socializing, and Tufts students have been eager for the university to follow suit.
"It has kind of been the elephant in the room that students bring up every year and nothing has happened," he said.
According to DiBiase, the construction could assuage many student concerns about social life. "There's a reason that students go to off-campus parties … instead of staying on campus," he said. "And there's a reason that students think we're a fragmented community."
DiBiase, now the treasurer for the senior class council and a trustee representative, helped oversee last year's expansion of Hotung, which he called a good start for a new vision of the campus center.
"I think Hotung is sort of the beginning of that conversation," he said. But he wants to see much more expansive work, with parts of the building being gutted to create new spaces.
"I think that we really need to go back to the drawing board," he said.
The Tufts Mountain Club has been one of the most active groups in petitioning the Senate for a portion of the recovered funds, and members showed up clad in matching outfits to yesterday's meeting. Sophomore Brian Gilling, the director of the Trips Cabin project, said it was a good opportunity to spread information about the planned supplement to the Loj, a New Hampshire house that the group operates.
"We were looking [to] bounce ideas off of everybody," he said. "I think it went well for everybody," he said, referring to the various students who proposed projects.
As for DiBiase, he hopes the meeting will be a springboard for a long-overdue project. "I think it's an idea that's been talked about for years, but the student body has never had the ability monetarily to show our commitment," he said.
