Spring Break
Student Senate aims to clean up Ellery pond
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: News
10/02/08 - The pond behind Ellery Hall may soon receive a makeover if the University of Rhode Island Student Senate Campus Affairs chairwoman has her way.
Amanda LaRocca announced initial plans to revamp the pond during last night's senate meeting.
"Basically, we really want the area to be more of a place where students can go and hang out, beautify the campus, make it clean because we all know that area is really kind of gross," LaRocca said. "It can be a great way for this senate to leave a mark on the campus."
LaRocca said the initial idea for the project was brought to her by campus police officer Mark Chearino.
Chearino, who was at the meeting, said afterwards that the idea for the project occurred to him last year.
"I always looked at the pond and said something could be done here, and why not?" Chearino said. "Everything is in a beautification process on campus and why not that?"
Among ideas LaRocca presented to the senate were the installation of a "reflection stone" and fire sconces set in the pond, "so we can have our own URI WaterFire," she said.
"[The reflection stone] will be like a big granite chunk that will be on one side of the pond surrounded by flowers," LaRocca said.
The stone might also serve as a memorial to recently deceased students, Chearino said.
"You walk around campus and everywhere you see a certain plaque where a student has passed in a tragic manner … I just think this would be a positive place for people to go and just kind of say a prayer or think a positive thought," Chearino said. "I just want it to be a whole positive envelope in one area."
LaRocca said she hopes to fund the project through alumni donations.
Senate President Tom Ahrens said the project was "maybe one of the better ideas I've heard since I've been on senate."
LaRocca stressed that the project was still in the planning stages.
"Before we do anything and get our hopes up too much we really do have to contact Lands and Grounds and also the [state] Department of Environmental Management, because if it's like a protected wetlands it really limits what we can do," LaRocca said after the meeting. "At the very least, we do want to clean it up."
LaRocca said she does not yet know when the project would be complete.
"I don't know the timeline right now, but we will be working on it all this year," she said. "I mean if we could get it done by the end of the year it would be great."
In other business:
• Ahrens announced that he has spoken with the Board of Governors for Higher Education about the possibility of setting up a student board of governors to discuss overall problems that students might be having with higher education in the state.
• Ahrens announced that senators would be meeting today with lawyers and plaintiffs concerning the lawsuit involving Narragansett's "Unruly Gatherings" ordinance, known to many as the "orange sticker" policy.
"I should know by next week what we're going to file for and what the next step is," he said.
Amanda LaRocca announced initial plans to revamp the pond during last night's senate meeting.
"Basically, we really want the area to be more of a place where students can go and hang out, beautify the campus, make it clean because we all know that area is really kind of gross," LaRocca said. "It can be a great way for this senate to leave a mark on the campus."
LaRocca said the initial idea for the project was brought to her by campus police officer Mark Chearino.
Chearino, who was at the meeting, said afterwards that the idea for the project occurred to him last year.
"I always looked at the pond and said something could be done here, and why not?" Chearino said. "Everything is in a beautification process on campus and why not that?"
Among ideas LaRocca presented to the senate were the installation of a "reflection stone" and fire sconces set in the pond, "so we can have our own URI WaterFire," she said.
"[The reflection stone] will be like a big granite chunk that will be on one side of the pond surrounded by flowers," LaRocca said.
The stone might also serve as a memorial to recently deceased students, Chearino said.
"You walk around campus and everywhere you see a certain plaque where a student has passed in a tragic manner … I just think this would be a positive place for people to go and just kind of say a prayer or think a positive thought," Chearino said. "I just want it to be a whole positive envelope in one area."
LaRocca said she hopes to fund the project through alumni donations.
Senate President Tom Ahrens said the project was "maybe one of the better ideas I've heard since I've been on senate."
LaRocca stressed that the project was still in the planning stages.
"Before we do anything and get our hopes up too much we really do have to contact Lands and Grounds and also the [state] Department of Environmental Management, because if it's like a protected wetlands it really limits what we can do," LaRocca said after the meeting. "At the very least, we do want to clean it up."
LaRocca said she does not yet know when the project would be complete.
"I don't know the timeline right now, but we will be working on it all this year," she said. "I mean if we could get it done by the end of the year it would be great."
In other business:
• Ahrens announced that he has spoken with the Board of Governors for Higher Education about the possibility of setting up a student board of governors to discuss overall problems that students might be having with higher education in the state.
• Ahrens announced that senators would be meeting today with lawyers and plaintiffs concerning the lawsuit involving Narragansett's "Unruly Gatherings" ordinance, known to many as the "orange sticker" policy.
"I should know by next week what we're going to file for and what the next step is," he said.
