EC Survey Presentation
Graduate Council May-19 Minutes
Picnic Tables
I’m pleased to announce the arrival of five new picnic tables, brought to you by the Executive Slate working in conjunction with College Council and Campus Services Committee. Funding was provided thanks to the Student Government Finance Committee.
These tables were secured with the help of the Facilities Department and were chosen to match the main quad’s aesthetics. The five tables will be located near Kent, Ryerson, behind the C Bench, and in the Classics and Social Sciences Quad (See the map). They will probably arrive by early June.
Along with these tables, the Facilities Department has pledged to also order eight new benches which will compliment the new benches.
Enjoy! And hopefully they’ll get here before the end of the quarter.
Written by Scott
These tables don’t really match too well with the Gothic architecture of the quads.
Comment by Anon — June 10, 2008 @ 10:39 am
Ironically Anon, they were picked with facilities help so design was definitely an important factor for them. The bark dust was also added, to help with grass maintenance.
But I do agree they stick out more than I would’ve expected. Damn useful though.
Comment by Scott — June 10, 2008 @ 10:47 am
It seems like the only design elements that facilities would care about would be practicality. That is, ease of cleaning and mowing around, etc.
That said, they do seem useful, but I would argue that they are not useful enough to keep around, considering how violently they break with the Gothic architecture. This is especially noticeable in the Classics quad, where the bench breaks the flow of the quad. The quads were designed by architects who conceived the space as a whole, and since the benches are by no means necessary, I believe their addition was ill-advised.
Comment by Anon — June 10, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
Sorry you feel that way Anon.
I think they are an incredibly useful addition to the Quad’s seating potential (which was sorely lacking). They let students spread out and work with a lot of space, and enjoy the nice weather.
Hopefully they’ll blend in more over time.
Comment by Scott — June 12, 2008 @ 8:24 am
what do you mean “blend in more over time”? what a silly thing to say. they’re eyesores and a huge waste of money
Comment by anon2 — June 18, 2008 @ 10:03 am
Sorry you feel that way too, Anon2.
By ‘blend in more over time’ I meant that we’ll become accustomed to their presence over time and they will be less obvious eyesores (and I’d disagree whether they’re eyesores right now). Excuse my silliness but I really believe that will be the case.
As for the waste of money part, I hardly saw an empty table during the quarter and they were heavily occupied during convocation. Eyesore, debatable. Useless, preposterous!
Comment by Scott — June 18, 2008 @ 11:23 am
“Along with these tables, the Facilities Department has pledged to also order eight new benches which will compliment the new benches”
I really don’t know if that’s good idea since we have so different views here.
Comment by Peter — June 29, 2008 @ 3:16 pm