In my digging around for any information on what’s going on, I have spoken to a student worker who is currently employed at Sullivan Center. The Sullivan Center houses most of the student services on campus, and is a building that is accessible to all students. That said, Sullivan is packed on every floor with offices. The building itself, not including the basement Library Storage Facility, is three floors. Every single one of these floors are full of offices, cubicles, and study spaces. Sullivan Center houses our Student Accessibility Center, as it is an ADA compliant building. This is not true of the IC nor Cudahy. Let me repeat that: The SAC may potentially be moved from an accessible building, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to a building that is not ADA compliant by any measure. What plan is there for such a move? Has this been thought through at all?

How is it possible to condense three floors worth of offices into our library? How do they plan to make the space accessible for disabled students? Is there even a plan at all? Administration has refused to answer any questions, simply saying that there is no complete plan and that one will be finished in February. As of writing this, it is February 19th. How do they plan to come up with a sound and concrete plan of action in the next two weeks if this plan has been on the books since October? The library was chosen in November following a Faculty Council Meeting, so no staff input was given nor asked for.

Despite claiming there is no plan, administration will be holding a vote with the Board of Trustees next month. How can this be? Either there is a plan, but they refuse to be transparent about it and plan to continue to keep it covered up, or there is no plan at all and they’re simply deciding as they go with no concern for the potential ramifications. Both cases are cause for concern.

What will happen to the books in storage and in the library? How much space will need to be made to house all three floors of Sullivan? How will the administration address the space issue? How will students be able to access necessary research materials? How will the library suddenly become accessible enough to house the SAC? The testing center? The tutoring center? What will happen to the student workers who are employed in Sullivan? In the library? And how will all of these questions suddenly be answered by March? As students, and on behalf of our faculty members, we are the largest stakeholders in the maintenance of our library and the accessibility of our student services to all students. Why is it that administration is keeping everything under wraps and moving behind the backs of students, faculty, alumni, and donors? What does this say about our university?

These questions must be answered. We as students demand transparency. We as students demand that the administration be transparent and forward with these plans. Otherwise, we will have to assume the worst. There has been no indication of an actual plan for this move forward, only that the library has been designated as the necessary space for Sullivan’s offices. Administration and the Board of Trustees have the responsibility to lay the plans out on the table for all. We deserve input in how the University is run. And we demand that Loyola’s administration allow us at the negotiating table.