Resolution 13-22: A Resolution to Create Effective
Classrooms
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WHEREAS, A committee was formed with equal representation from students, faculty,
and staff to advise and govern the design and construction of a new
classroom building; and
WHEREAS, Faculty representation on and outside of this committee has expressed
concerns about windows in active learning and auditorium classrooms in
the new building because the windows may cause increased cost for
construction, create a glare on presentation screens and marker boards, or
distract students from the subject being taught; and
WHEREAS, The Student Government Chief of Staff, as a representative on the
committee, has unequivocally requested and adjured windows in all
possible classrooms and made considerable compromise from the original
request in accommodating faculty concerns; and
WHEREAS, The construction cost difference for windows in the new classroom
building auditorium represent less than 0.2% of the construction cost; and
WHEREAS, A design for the windows has been suggested by the architect that would
use translucent and colored glass to prevent window glare; and
WHEREAS, The wall-to-window dimensions of the room were redesigned to
accommodate specific concerns about glares on the presentation so that
the architect and the department of Facilities Planning and Development
both advise that there will be no significant or distracting glare on the
screen; and
WHEREAS, Translucent glass for the first eight feet and eight inches of the building, as
suggested by the architect, would prevent students from being distracted
or imposed upon by factors outside of the immediate learning environment
and auditorium;
WHEREAS, On the eleventh of April 2013, the Student Government Chief of Staff
specifically requested unaddressed faculty objections to the inclusion of
windows in the new classroom building’s auditorium; and
WHEREAS, The committee is at minimum equally responsible for addressing the
student needs as well as the faculty needs, as both parties represent
permanent stakeholders of the space; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By the Student Government of Wright State University here
assembled, that:
(1) Student Government in the strongest possible terms endorses the use
of windows as enhancers of the educational environment in the design
of all possible future classrooms;
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(2) Student Government finds no reasonable objection to the inclusion of
windows or limited vision glass in the auditorium of the New
Classroom Building that has not been addressed entirely and
sufficiently by the architect; and
(3) Student Government strongly believes that the committee created to
address the needs and design of the new classroom building should
make decisions representative of its makeup and not follow a policy
that permits one group – especially those who do not comprise the
committee’s membership – to railroad end-user interests by usurping
democratic decision-making; and
(4) Student Government encourages inclusive decision-making processes
that do not unreasonably accommodate the concerns of one party at the
expense of the other without wholesome and university-wide dialogue;
and
(5) Student Government is optimistic that the committee for the New
Classroom Building is capable of incorporating wholesome and
inclusive feedback from the University community.
Introduced by Spencer Brannon, Brent Aebi, Jenn Barbadora