This reduction in student group space comes alongside other recent student centre changes
At the start of this fall term, the Victoria College Athletics Association (VCAA) was moved from their office space in the Goldring Student Centre by the Office of the Dean of Students. They will now share office space with the Vic Records recording studio and the VUSAC boardroom. The student levy will also be allowed to share storage space in a to-be-built shed on the Marg Ad field along with other storage areas in the student centre. In place of the student group, Trinity College Professor John Duncan and Dean’s Office employee Elena Ferranti will use the room in their capacities as Ideas for the World organisers. They previously occupied another office in the same wing of Goldring, but have moved to make space for the Vic on-site counsellors. Victoria College has two on-site mental health counsellors—one general, and one specifically for BIPOC-identifying students. They are moving into the former Ideas for the World room to make space for the new Wellness Interns who will be housed in the main Dean’s Office area. The Goldring Student Centre is a hub of student life, and full-time students currently pay $200 a year for the centre’s mortgage.
In reference to the functionality of their new space arrangement, VCAA Co-Presidents Katerina Carrozzi and Onbee Kim shared in a statement with The Strand that their “old office was definitely more convenient for hosting impromptu meetings. However, we are optimistic about how we can utilise our new spaces moving forward!” VCAA also noted that they are “excited about the addition of our new Wellness Interns, and since we are also a wellness-based Levy, we can only hope to see both parties flourish here at Victoria College!”
VCAA is not the first group to be moved in the Student Centre recently. Vic Records President Celia Siriopoulos and Studio Manager Riley Moorman shared in an email statement to The Strand that “the Vic Records studio space has not had a place to call home for many years now. Originally, the studio was on the main floor of the Goldring Student Centre, but when that space became occupied and then turned into a storage facility during the pandemic, Vic Records was left without a place for aspiring artists to create music. During the 2022 to 2023 academic year, we were moved into the basement of Goldring.” They continued to outline how they felt when VCAA was moved into their studio “without any consultation or notice” by stating they felt it was “incredibly concerning and unprofessional that the Dean’s Office would make such dramatic changes to a ratified club’s ability to accomplish one of its primary functions.” They continued to note that “the studio is only able to physically hold a handful of people (say a band and a recording technician), any amount of background noise absolutely ruins a recording session. This is combined with the fact that moving more things into the space also has an effect on the acoustics […] Our studio space is filled with expensive recording equipment, which is a large financial liability for a club with limited funding. In normal operation, a specifically trained member of Vic Records is always present to make sure that equipment is handled with care and not damaged.” Vic Records shared that their studio “provides a free, essential service to this school’s many aspiring musicians, that is unaffordable otherwise.” The club finished their statement by saying they’d “like to work with the Dean’s Office to resolve this unfortunate pattern of inconsistency, disrespect, and a lack of transparency and communication; and continue to provide the best services we can to the music community that is so integral to student life at Vic, and UofT as a whole.”
In an email to The Strand, Dean of Students Kelley Castle stated, “Our approach to allocating space in the Goldring Student Centre reflects our commitment to ensuring students have access to as many resources and opportunities as possible. The Office of the Dean of Students has consistently heard that more resources to support student mental health and well-being were required. We are pleased to share that two more roles have been added to the office with a focus on student mental health and well-being. The need to have space for these roles increased the already very tight office capacity for student support roles. The space previously used by VCAA was originally allocated for staff supporting students and so we are now using it for that purpose while continuing to ensure VCAA has access to both storage and meeting space for which they were previously using the office. Students have also shared a desire for increased focus on physical health and so we hope that once it’s built, students will take advantage of the sports and leisure equipment in the brand-new shed in Margaret Addison Field. We are grateful to the VCAA for their collaborative approach to finding a good solution to the space crunch. Plans are currently underway to have a more expansive approach to student resources in the Goldring Student Centre, including moving the Office of the Registrar into the building. The Board of Regents, which has student representation, is currently reviewing the plans.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
