Student Congress Petitions Due by Gregory S. Olgers Petitions for those seeking to
run for one of the thirty seats available on the Student Congress office door (located in the
Student Activities office area on the main floor of DeWitt Center). Elections are scheduled for
T h u r s d a y of n e x t w e e k (September 13). Voting for those who have obtained the twentyfive signatures needed to place them on the ballot shall be done by the students residing in their respective dorm or district only-not by the student body at large. The duties of those elected shall include the seeking of an appointment to one or more of Hope's governing boards and committees as well as participation in the general meetings of the Student Congress as a whole. The time commitment involved is relatively minor, as the boards and committees meet only semiregularly; the Congress as a whole only on a l t e r n a t i n g Wednesday nights. The responsibilities of the governing boards and committees, whicxh are comprised of not only students but a corresponding number of faculty members and administrative personnel as well, are varied. They include such tasks as the selection of those who are to fill such positions as Editor of the Anchor (Student Communications and Media Committee), the determination of the location and nature of new construciton such as the proposed library addition (Strategic Planning Committee)
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Volume 97, Number 1
Freshman Class a Record High Hope College enrollment is at an all lime highwith approximately 2,540 students. A record freshman class of nearly 650 men and women not only made up for last year's decline but pushed enrollment to a new high. 1983's fresman class totaled 522, down approximately 70 from 1982. An increase in transfer students, though, left Hope with a decline in total enrollment of just 21 sutdents from the previous year. "We will not only have the largest freshman class in the history of Hope College, but academically this will be a very outstanding class," said President VanWylen. Statistics confirm VanWylen's statement. 358 incoming had a 3.2 grade point averge or better during their high school days. Other statistics include: 191 freshmen are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, 110 more being in the next 10 percent. 479 a r e r e s i d e n t s of Michigan, Illinois and New York, tying for a distant second with 33 freshemn each. 31 states and the District of Columbia supplied the freshmen from the United States.
September 6, 1984
and the allocations from the fund created by the pooling of the activity fees paid annually by Hope students-a sum in excess of $80,000 (Student Appropriations Committee). As a unit, the Student Congress reports and evaluates the activities of the three governing boards (the Academic Affairs Board, the Administrative Affairs Board and the Campus Life Board) and their several related committees. The congress as a whole also deals with issues concerning the Hope community, whicha re brought to its attention either throught its executive officers (of which there are t h r e e President Dave Brat, First Vice President Bethany VanDuyne and Second Vice President Greg Olgers), the general representatives, or directly by members of the Hope community (who are welcome to attend all Congress meetings). Recent examples include such controversial issues as the college's faculty hiring policy and the annual Critical Issues Symposium. The Congress shall first meet shortly after the elections have taken place. Its last meeting of the year shall be some weeks prior to the final exam week in May.
Hope College Anchor
NEW LIBRARY PROPOSED by Robert E. Hoke After y e a r s of planning and conc e p t u a l i z a t i o n , t h e p r o c e s s of building a new library is in the final s t a g e - p r i o r to construction. In 1982, the Library Planning Committee, chaired by Dr. Elton Bruins, was formed to look into w a y s of dealing with the i m m e n s e overcrowding of Van Zoeren Library. In October of 1983 the Board of Trustees approved the hiring of the architectural firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston to design the new college library. At the May, 1984 meeting the Board of Trustees approved the tentative plan to build the library on College Avenue across from Voorhees. The severity of the situation in Van Zoeren Is perhaps best illustrated by the comparison of the plans for the library when it w a s constructed in 1962 and its present use. The building was designed to contain 500 study spaces (one-third of the student population at that time) and 100,00 volumes. The library now contains only 250 s e a t s (one-tenth of the student p o p u l a t i o n ) and 200,000 volumes. As one library technician stated, "Presently the libraryis to capacity. The college cannot even begin to discuss collection development until we have more s p a c e to put the new books." The architects were inspired by buildings such a s G r a v e s and Voorhees in s e s i g n i n g the new library. They desired to transpose the architectural style form the east side of College Avenue to the new building and at the s a m e t i m e m a k e buildings such as Van Zoeren and Vander Werf "fit into the style of the c a m p u s . " This w a s a c c o m p l i s h e d by
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An artist's rendition of the envisioned new library reveals the a building design with a tremendous amount of windows, multiple roofs and dormers and the use of a style of brick siilar to that of Voorhees. The planned structure will contain four floors with two and one half times the floor s p a c e of the present library. The library will have double the amount of shelving as Van Zoeren plus 550 s e a t s for individual studying, and eleven group study rooms. Other special features of the planned library include a studen lounge area with vending m a c h i n e s , faculty study rooms, an expOanded archives, a forty person auditorium, a model classroom in conjunction with the
integration of Todd VerBeek)
Curriculum Library, a computerized card catalog and an automated circulation system. In total, the vacility will contain 96,000 square feet of space, which includes the physical plant for the buildings. In addition to the library itself, many additional c h a n g e s will be made to the western edge of the c a m pus. Graves P l a c e (the street between P e a l e Science Center and Van Zoeren) will b e c o m e a pedestrian mall. The upper two l e v e l s of Van Zoeren will b e c o m e classroom and offices. Also in preliminary plans is the creation of an addition b e t w e e n Van Zoeren and Vander Werf.
style.
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Cost for the entire project has been estimated at $8.5 million. Robert DeYoung, Vice-President of Development, a s s u r e s that "the cost for this project will not c o m e from tuition money. It is the College's policy that the cost of capital projects such as the new library be paid for by special donations." The m o s t optimistic schedule for the building will have the ground-breaking in June of next year with the completion of the project in the Spring of 1987. Finally to answer the most widely asked q u e s t i o n about the new library: Y e s It will have air conditioning.