February 23, 2024/Midnight
On Tuesday, February 20th, in Yehl Ballroom, the Student Government Association hosted a night of open discussion, questions, and answers. This discussion was led by the Vice President and Provost of Student Experience, Sarah J. Ewing, and the President of the Student Government Association, Joseph Pfleger.
The night began with a brief presentation on one of Gannon’s new projects, Project NePTWNE. Project NePTWNE is an acronym that stands for Nano & Polymer Technology for Water and Neural networks in Erie. It was created for many different purposes, some of which include fulfilling student desires for social change, especially related to environmental causes.
It was also created in response to Gannon’s proximity to Lake Erie, and the city of Erie’s dependence on Lake Erie to support its economy. Another purpose of the project is to further the values and mission of Gannon as a Catholic University, which include caring for both the environment, and our community.
Project NePTWNE has six major phases. The first is the Center for Manufacturing and Technology, which is on the sixth floor of I-Hack. There, technology is being made to test the waters of Lake Erie. The second is a new greenhouse coming to campus soon. The third is the Great Lakes Research and Education Center, which will be made possible in partnership with the Blasco Library.
The fourth is Gannon’s 48-foot research vessel, the Enviornaut. The final two phases are currently in development, but include adding courses relating to the project, and adding equipment on campus to conduct lake health research, while also encouraging community involvement.
After the presentation on Project NePTWNE, students were encouraged to ask questions on both the presentation, and their general concerns regarding the university. One question that quickly emerged regarding student housing. Gannon has recently begun to enforce a policy that may affect students who receive regional pricing for their university housing.
The main concern of students was that they would not be able to choose the residence hall that would suit them, and that students utilizing regional pricing would not be able to live in newer, or more expensive residence halls.
“The original intent for regional pricing is based off of, we had a large capacity for housing, and we wanted to offer students who might not originally have come to Gannon an ability to come here, and we’ve done that,” said Dr. Sarah J. Ewing, Gannon’s Provost, and Vice President for Student Experience.
“As we added South Hall, and we continue to monitor the demand and interest in some of our newer housing options, we’ve had to readjust what residence halls are allowed to be utilized for the regional pricing. We are interested in working with all of our students.”
Some other questions emerged throughout the night, including the removal of some buildings on campus. Ewing noted that The Knight Club was torn down due to its structural instability, and there are no plans to rebuild the building in the same spot. One of the residence buildings, Wehrle Hall, is also projected to be torn down by fall of 2025. However, it is planned that new residence halls will be built.
Finally, any attendee of the forum was able to put in a ticket for a drawing, representing any student club or organization. The winner of the drawing was the Central Asian Student Organization, which won $450 dollars, to which they can use to the benefit of their organization.
