by Janelle Kohnert
Staff Writer

Over the past two years, $138,000 has been set aside from student tuition and fees and put into the SS&A account to pay for furniture that would fill the new PUB this December.

Furniture was supposed to be ordered by the company K.I. and SCC administration by October 16 so that it would arrive in time for the opening of the PUB in December. Several meetings have already been held between the administration and K.I. to discuss the furniture and layout of that furniture. Students in the SBA were invited to the meetings, but since they occurred between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., only four representatives were able to make it to one meeting, and then only for 30 minutes.

At this meeting, the few SBA members who attended were shown furniture and a layout that was chosen for them, as opposed to being asked what furniture they were interested in or where that furniture would go.

The senate has to approve the movement of money out of the SS&A account to pay for the PUB’s furniture, but the lack of communication between SCC administration and the SBA has pushed them to freeze the $138,000 in the account.

Members of the SBA have met with the administration on October 15 and are calling in a representative from the college to answer the SBA’s questions at a student government meeting on October 17.

Because of these meetings and the frozen state of the money in the SS&A account, it is probable that the furniture for the PUB will be ordered after October 16. It’s possible that when the PUB opens, there will be nowhere to sit, eat or study, although the furniture could still arrive in time for the start of the winter quarter. SBA president Ivanhoe said, “If we didn’t have the furniture by the time we started, I feel like we’d still have the furniture we have for the time being. I would hesitate to rush this decision.”

Furniture for the PUB was originally included in the $15 million loan that was taken by SCC to build the PUB. Currently, hallways, conference rooms and student lounges are the areas in most dire need of being furnished, while the SBA offices, Women’s center, Multimedia center and Ebbtide offices are lower on the list, since it is possible for most of these organizations to use the furniture they currently have. The International Program area of the PUB is last on the list of furniture in dire need, since they are already state and tuition funded.