Clemson Undergraduate Student Government senators discussed the future of Clemson’s infrastructure planning and opportunities for Clemson students to help different communities across South Carolina at the weekly Senate meeting on Monday.
Clemson is collaborating with architecture company SmithGroup for the upcoming Campus Life Facility Master Plan. The goal is to help the University plan facilities programming to support all aspects of campus life.
This is SmithGroup’s first time on Clemson’s campus. Their goal is to finish the design aspect of this plan by the summer of 2026. During SmithGroup’s presentation, there was an emphasis on wanting to focus on student union and recreational spaces that are more easily accessible and improve students’ overall experience on campus.
While SmithGroup is here, they will be touring different facilities, meeting with different stakeholders and generating feedback from students and faculty members.
“These facilities, it’s not just about a new building. So, the question for us is, how do we use architecture to really engage students as they’re walking through it?” Calvin Maggie, an architect and designer at SmithGroup, told The Tiger.
Other recent developments discussed at the CUSG meeting related to new outreach opportunities for Clemson students. Julio Hernandez, assistant to the president for community outreach and engagement, proposed starting a new project that would provide Clemson students with more opportunities to participate in outreach programs and internships that could also benefit different communities across South Carolina.
“One of the things I love about Clemson is how it makes a difference in the lives of so many different communities,” Hernandez told The Tiger.
Geoff Gilson • Sep 21, 2024 at 4:19 am
I think it’s great that CUSG discussed the Campus Life Facilities Master Plan. But, I have some thoughts, as an active Clemson Alumnus, and former CUSG and GSG Senator. All of this planning is supposed to elevate the student experience. But isn’t that experience likely to be elevated with an improvement in services, alongside constructing yet more buildings? What about CUSG and GSG pushing for an accompanying Campus Life Services Master Plan? Talking about improvements in dorms, dining, Redfern, stipends, and the like? What about gaining a commitment from the Board of Trustees that for every dollar spent on buildings, ten cents will be spent on student services? After all, student fees account for 34% of the university income that is being spent on buildings. Of course, this sort of outcome is unlikely while there is still no student representation on the Board of Trustees. Which is why there is a major effort, including CUSG and GSG, to put student government representatives on the Clemson Board of Trustees.