The May 1 edition of The Eagle included a story entitled "Students 'occupy' Kerwin's lawn for weekly meeting." In the story, some students raised the issue of outdoor reservable space on campus. Students in the story made the claim that “since we pay tuition dollars ... we have the right to use [the University's] facilities, including the lawn outside of the presidential office."
For context, two clarifications are needed here:
• The University designates which spaces are placed in the scheduling system and determines the parameters of use on a space by space basis. The lawn at the President's Office Building is not designated as a reservable space, so organized activities may not be held there.
• The University allows recognized student organizations and University departments to request outdoor reservable space for a variety of purposes. The group in the article, Occupy AU, has not sought recognition as a student organization and therefore has no official standing or privileges on campus.
Students involved with Occupy AU may request recognition through Student Activities. As a recognized group, it would have scheduling privileges for the full range of indoor and outdoor spaces that the University makes available for events and activities.
There are no plans to make the lawn of the President's Office Building a reservable event space.
Michael Elmore Senior Director University Center
