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It’s well known that McMaster’s enrolment is high and the campus is short on space, but this month, off-campus and commuter students at McMaster will be given a new place to hang out.

A new lounge is opening on campus, dedicated to off-campus and commuter students. The lounge, named “The Lodge,” will occupy the space in Wentworth House that was formerly taken by The Phoenix.

The aim of the space is to help commuter students of all years connect to Mac by giving them a place to relax and study.

Jennifer Kleven, Director of the Off-Campus Resource Centre, thinks the lounge will make a noticeable difference to off-campus and commuter students, who may not feel the sense of community that residence students do.

“Sometimes they feel this disconnect,” she explained. “And it’s been shown that the more connected they feel to the school, the higher their grades will often be. And we think that’s really important.”

The project of establishing the lounge was started early in 2012, and it has been a joint effort between the Off-Campus Resource Centre and McMaster’s Office of Student Affairs, with input from the Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS).

Gina Robinson, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and a major advocate for the lounge, had a hard time hiding her excitement about the project.

As a Mac grad and a former commuter student, Robinson appreciates the needs of students today.

“I’m really passionate about the commuters,” she said. “I can remember being a commuter student—it was difficult at that time.

She described how students once used Hamilton Hall as a communal space, before the student centre was built. With straightforward amenities—tables and chairs, a couple TV’s, and a microwave—it felt to her like a home away from home. She hopes current commuter students can have that same feeling.

Robinson and Kleven looked at research on commuter students from American schools such as the University of Ohio and University of Miami, as such research hasn’t been produced by Canadian universities, despite the trend of “refocusing on off-campus and commuter students.”

Although the idea has been widely praised, questions have been raised about the choice of location for the lounge. The old Phoenix, while it can accommodate a large number of students, is in Wentworth House, which is set to be torn down this spring to make way for the university’s new Wilson Building for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Kleven explained that they saw the space as a good opportunity to launch the initiative as a pilot project.

“We all know space is tight on the campus,” she said. ”So why not take advantage of it while we can? It was going to sit vacant, nobody was going to be using it, so why not use it?”

“We wanted to create a space now,” explained Robinson, emphasizing that there is a pressing need for a lounge.

With a temporary space, however, they needed to be careful with money.

“When we were spending money we were trying to do it very carefully,” said Robinson.

The project received $25,000 from the Student Life Enhancement Fund for the project, which will be spent on furniture for the space. The remaining $20,000-$25,000 that have been budgeted will come from the Office of Student Affairs.

Although some of the costs are one-time—for example, the wireless will cost about $5000—Robinson and Kleven believe it’s worth it.

“It’ll be good money spent if this is a successful initiative, and then we can find more permanent space,” said Robinson.

Finding permanent space for The Lodge is something the team can only hope for at this point. Although Kleven and Robinson have appealed to the university administration for a permanent space, it’s not easy to find on such a packed campus.

Explained Kleven, “we’re hoping that we’re going to get hordes of students…[so] this will be an obvious example to the administration that we need this type of space on a permanent basis.”

 

Since the Phoenix Bar and Grill’s move to the Refectory Building, students have encountered unexpected wait times to enter the restaurant.

“What we’re trying to do is maintain a balance between getting as many people as we can in the restaurant but also maintaining our level of service,” said Jessica Merolli, president of the Graduate Students Association, which owns and operates the bar.

“It has meant that wait times are a little bit longer than they normally are.”

Merolli suggested that the Phoenix wait times are the result of the heightened demand to eat in its larger location and because of increased exposure to undergraduates.

The new Phoenix location was initially touted for its larger capacity, with 35 more seats inside and 81 more seats on the patio. But despite the restaurant’s ability to accommodate more customers, on numerous occasions there have been several sections closed in the main dining hall.

The new location has an occupancy limit of 181 people. Although the liquor license allows for up to 362, the liquor inspector explained that capacity must be capped at the number of people that can fit inside – in the event that it rains and the patio patrons all want to come indoors, for example.

The policy was the same at the Wentworth House location, where capacity was capped at 150, even though the liquor license allowed for 443.

At the new location, though, patrons waiting for tables at the door can see most of the indoor dining hall, which is sometimes relatively empty while the patio is full.

On the service end, the distance between the kitchen and patio has been an issue. In the Wentworth House location, the smaller patio was much closer to the kitchen, which ensured smoother and faster delivery of food. It also ensured more consistent service because servers wouldn’t lose time travelling between the kitchen and the patio.

Merolli also mentioned other factors that she thought were part of the necessary “learning curve” at the new location. The staff transitioned during the restaurant’s peak rush time in Welcome Week and has been adapting to the new kitchen, equipment and seating arrangement.

As the semester continues and things get more settled at the new location, the Phoenix is looking to enhance its service by adding new menu items and allocating a certain number of seats for reservations.

“We’re really happy that everyone is so excited to come to the bar and we’re trying our best to get people through as quickly as possible,” said Merolli. “We don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the service in order to get more people in the restaurant.”

TwelvEighty, the other campus bar, has seen an increase in sales from last year through the first two weeks of September. Whether or not there is link between this increase and the wait times at The Phoenix is uncertain.

The Phoenix Bar and Grill reopened at the Refectory Rathskeller on Tuesday to a busy crowd eager to size up the new venue. The relocation of the 43-year-old campus bar from Wentworth House to the Refectory has been an ongoing project since summer 2011.

The Phoenix runs on reduced hours this week and will host an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Sept. 10. President Patrick Deane will attend the event along with members of the university administration, Graduate Student Association representatives and MSU executives. VP (Administration) Roger Couldrey will kick off celebrations.

 

Covenant, a new art installation, was cemented in front of the McMaster Museum of Art right before move-in weekend. The life-size bronze sculpture of an encounter between two coyotes is by Canadian First Nations artist Mary Anne Barkhouse. The sculpture adds to McMaster’s collection of over 7,000 art pieces.

 

Installation of a new $3 million outdoor track with a turf field nears completion after 4 months of construction during the summer. The eight-lane track, to be used by students and possibly rented for public use, has a new high-tech synthetic surface. The facility is expected to be ready for use in mid-September.

 

Second-floor expansion of the Psychology Building has reached the structural steel stage. The addendum will be home to a Large Interactive Virtual Environment (L.I.V.E.) performance laboratory. The lab will be dedicated to research bridging music and neuroscience, and will include a small concert hall. Construction is expected to finish by spring 2013.

 

As part of the City of Hamilton’s backflow prevention program, four water lines on campus have been undergoing construction, including one outside the Engineering Technology Building facing Main Street West (shown above).

Pipeline enhancements will prevent the university’s wastewater from entering pipes throughout the city.

The initiative is in compliance with a by-law passed in May affecting all commercial, industrial and institutional buildings over four storeys high.

 

Edwards Hall and Chester New Hall, both over 45 years old, now back onto a new walkway. Similar walkway and pedestrian crosswalk improvements have been made near the Burke Science Building, the Main Street West entrance at Forsyth Avenue South and parking lots I and E.

 

After several months of delay, the Phoenix bar and restaurant has cleared a major hurdle in its move over to the Refectory building, above Bridges Café.

The liquor license application by McMaster’s Graduate Students Association, which owns the bar, was held up by an objection from members of Parents Against Drunk Students (PADS), a Westdale residents’ association led by lawyer Lou Ferro. The new license was required for the move.

PADS took out an advertisement in the Hamilton Spectator in May, which attempted to rally residents against the bar’s move, warning of “the volume of drunk Animal House students spilling into our west campus streets.”

Phoenix management was informed on June 29 that they had won in their appeal of the objection, and that they could continue their pursuit of the license. Only fire, building and health inspections, followed by a liquor inspection from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, are the remaining steps before the move can take place.

The news follows an announcement that the site of Wentworth House, which is set to be demolished, will be the home of the new liberal arts building, to be called L.R. Wilson Hall. While the Graduate Students Association offices will move along with the Phoenix, other tenants of Wentworth House, including the Muslim Students Association, the McMaster Children’s Centre and MacCycle, will need to find new locations.

The building was announced last year following funding commitments from the Ontario government, McMaster’s Chancellor Lynton (Red) Wilson and the McMaster Association of Part-time Students (MAPS).

According to Sue Blythe, General Manager of the bar, the administrative work for the Phoenix license should be finished up in the next few weeks. She estimated that the relocation will happen between late-July and mid-August, “but certainly before September.”

The Phoenix will remain in its current location, on the upper floor of Wentworth House, until then.

Construction, according to Blythe, was the larger factor in the delays, which have pushed plans well beyond an initial January end date. The final stages of the liquor license process will only add a couple of weeks, she said.

As the Phoenix continues to pursue a liquor license for the move to its new location, a few Westdale residents are taking the opportunity to push back against problems of noise and damage caused by drunken students in the area.

A group called Parents Against Drunk Students (PADS) purchased a quarter-page advertisement on page A13 of Saturday’s edition of The Hamilton Spectator, proclaiming that “McMaster Students Want More Alcohol On Campus.” The ad warned that the relocation of The Phoenix will lead to a more rowdy neighbourhood.

“What A Great Idea,” said the ad, sarcastically. “Let’s Increase The Volume Of Drunk Animal House Students Spilling Into Our West Campus Streets." The ad claimed that the bar has the potential to "make Sterling Street a Party Street," and made comparisons to the problems with student drinking in London and Kingston.

“It’s a group of concerned citizens that border along the boundary of McMaster University who are very afraid that students will throw eggs at their houses if their names are published. It’s happened before,” said Lou Ferro, the lawyer and Westdale resident who authored the ad, about PADS.

The Phoenix is set to move from its current spot in Wentworth House to the Refectory building, above Bridges Cafe, over the summer. The ad, though, claims that McMaster students are campaigning for “Another Bar On Campus,” not mentioning that the move will result in the closure of the current Phoenix. The new spot is closer to the centre of campus, further from the Westdale neighbourhood, and will hold a liquor license for fewer people.

“When you compare the old Phoenix to the new Phoenix, it’s a whole new situation, a whole new bar concept," said Ferro. "The new Phoenix is a modern, heavy-duty, big-sized bar with a business plan that greatly overshadows the old bar. When you take the new bar, it’s a whole different entity. They may be calling it The Phoenix, but it’s not rising as a Phoenix. It’s rising as a whole new bar.”

The Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association (AWWCA), which would normally represent concerns like these of permanent residents, has not chosen to take a stance against the bar.

“I know that there are some people that, from a community point of view, are looking at it more intensely than others,” said Jay Parlar, president of the AWWCA, speaking to The Silhouette in February. “They’ve come to the Board, asking the Board for support for what they’re doing, and we can’t.”

PADS targets the Association in the ad, saying that their decision was a poor one.

"AWWCA doesn’t have any right to say anything about anything that doesn’t affect them, because it’s 200 feet from the bar that's being affected, and most of AWWCA’s membership lives beyond the sphere on influence of this bar. It’s the Sterling and Forsythe triangle that we’re worried about," said Ferro.

PADS appears to be a reincarnation of Westdale Against Drunk Students, which staged a rally in 2006 to campaign for the closure of TwelvEighty, then called Quarters.

“We don’t have any faith in student management of the bars,” said Ferro, explaining that students don't have the experience needed to serve alcohol responsibly.

The Phoenix has been on campus for 43 years. In that time, the McMaster campus has always hosted two or more student bars.

“Students are students. Nobody’s arguing with their right to drink alcohol, but when a university or association puts them all in one spot and creates this mass, it’s a dangerous thing – not only for the neighbourhood, but for the students as well,” said Ferro.

Brian Decker & Sam Colbert

Executive Editor & Managing Editor

 

The Phoenix will not be moving to the Refectory until well into the summer break.

The move, which was originally planned to take place over the past Christmas break, had already been delayed until some time after Reading Week. Now, new circumstances are postponing the move once again.

The major complications stem from the process of completing major construction projects without disturbing the business of Bridges Cafe, the Refectory’s other tenant.

“We needed to go through the basement of Bridges. There was no way to do this construction without Bridges closing in April,” said Graduate Students Association (GSA) president Jessica Merolli. “This is why we decided to do the project in two phases.”

The original plan included major construction taking place while Bridges was closed for the winter break, but an undiscovered pipe in the kitchen area delayed the project.

“We had delays that were not unexpected. We hope for the best, but things happen,” said Merolli, who added that the latest Bridges construction complication included the additional movement of the GSA offices from Wentworth House to the Refectory.

One unnamed source, though, came forward with the news that there could be more to the delay than technical problems.

In addition to construction issues, the move may be pushed back by concerns from residents in the area. According to the source, one resident in particular plans on “holding up the liquor license” because of frustrations over the behavior of students who come out of the bar and into Westdale.

“I know that there are some people that, from a community point of view, are looking at it more intensely than others,” said Jay Parlar, president of the Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association. “They’ve come to the Board, asking the Board for support for what they’re doing, and we can’t.”

The Association has, in the past, taken issue with students coming out of campus bars, particular TwelvEighty (or Quarters, as it was formerly known), and causing damage or noise in surrounding neighbourhoods.

“The official stance of the Association is that we’ve got no problem with this,” said Parlar of the Phoenix move. He explained that, in his experience, it generally hasn’t been Phoenix partons that have caused problems.

The “Decision to delay the move is because of construction,” asserted Merolli in response to questions about delays caused by displeased local residents.

“There are no exceptional circumstances going on here,” said Peter Self, assistant dean of graduate student life and research training. He did, though, acknowledge the tribunal process. “This is a normal process that happens when establishments are trying to get a liquor license.”

Self explained that, with the move being pushed back further and further, it made sense just to move the bar and GSA offices at the same time. Construction of the offices would disrupt the operations of Bridges Café, and needs to wait until the summer, when Bridges is closed.

“It was never a great option that the GSA wasn’t going to be there on location. The whole premise began with ‘everyone move at once,’” said Self.

As for whether the tribunal was responsible for delaying the move, Self said, “If the place isn’t ready, you can’t open it anyway.”

He expects that the tribunal will be complete and the Phoenix will have its license by the time it re-opens over the summer. “If you have total hindsight, would you start [to acquire a liquor license] earlier? Maybe. But the reality is that it should be in place by the time it’s open anyway.”

“The moving and delays truly reflect the fact that we are doing it in the right way,” said Merolli. “We don’t want to do anything that denies that project. We don’t want to delay the process, but ultimately, it is the right thing to do.”

 

With files from Kacper Niburski