Atrium being improved
By Alisha Wassenaar
Staff Reporter

Aesthetic improvements to the Moudy Building Atrium began Monday and will be finished in approximately two weeks if the weather permits, said Robert Sulak, assistant director of landscaping and grounds.

Erin Munger/SKIFF STAFF TCU groundskeepers Cayetano Solis and Fabian Dominguez up-root a tree as part of the renovation of the Moudy Building atrium Monday.

Don Mills, vice chancellor of student affairs, said he is in support of the project for both safety and aesthetic reasons.

Kaveh Nezafati, chairman of the Permanent Improvements Committee of the Student Government Association, said the main purpose for refurbishing the atrium is for the safety of students.

Nezafti said the atrium currently has overgrown bushes and is not lit well. There have not been any problems in the past, but this project will improve the area and make it safer, he said.

“We always want to consider the safety of our students,” said Mills.

There will be a change of greenery, art sculptures will be added and better drainage installed, Nezafati said. Benches will create an inviting look for students to sit down and study or hang out, he said.

Mills said all parties involved in the improvements have agreed to a $25,000 budget. The administration will cover costs beyond the $13,000 the committee is providing, Nezafati said.

Nezafati and President Chelsea Hudson met with David Willock, interim dean of the College of Communications and Scott Sullivan, dean of the College of Fine Arts to negotiate the renovation plans.

“The deans are realists,” said Nezafati. “They helped us look at things financially and come to a good compromise.”

The project began in 2001 as a Physical Plant idea which developed into an idea for the committee.

“The atrium will upgrade the looks of the area,” Sulak said.

Hudson began the project when she was chairman of the committee, but handed it over to Nezafati when elected student body president. The bill was introduced last semester, proposed to Mills and passed.

Alisha Wassenaar
a.a.wassenaar@student.tcu.edu

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