The Student Senate recently approved four capital improvement projects, including a $50,000 feasibility study to an outside vendor for a new statue, an art piece, a community garden and a bus stop shelter.
This fiscal year, the Clemson Undergraduate Student Government had $98,057 in capital improvement funds, with student-submitted projects requesting $88,750.
On Feb. 20, the Student Senate voted on allocation amounts for each project they found tangible. The total amount allocated to student projects was $79,500, with the unused funds placed in the Capital Improvement Account for next year’s capital improvement projects.
A feasibility study to honor Harvey Gantt was given $50,000 by the Student Senate. The study, conducted by an outside vendor, will provide a mock-up of what materials are needed and the cost, along with a timeline and location.
“In order for this project to get off the ground and be potentially routed through the University’s approval processes, the group requested and received funding from Capital Improvement to pay for a feasibility study,” said Secretary Murray.
If approved by the University after the feasibility study, the statue will likely cost an additional $49,900, said Sheldon Johnson, the project applicant.
$20,000 was allocated to the “Shaping the Land: Art Proposal”, which began from a group of Creative Inquiry students learning about public art.
The proposal suggests an interactive piece of art to recognize Clemson’s history through the lives and labor of the more than 667 unmarked graves of African Americans in Woodland Cemetery. The students plan to commission Adebunmi Gbadebo, an artist with work featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
These burial sites encompass African American enslaved persons, sharecroppers, domestic workers, tenant farmers, convicted laborers, as well as wage workers and their families.
In addition, an EcoReps Community Garden received $4,000 in funds to expand the current pilot community garden at Thornhill Village for students to grow their personal fruits, vegetables and herbs.
The pilot has been a success, so the EcoReps requested Capital Improvement money to improve and expand their current garden, said Murray.
“Two years ago, I worked as an RHA senator to get an active greenspace on campus. Today we have a location, members, structure, succession plans, and faculty advisors,” said Calvin Paulsen, an EcoReps representative. “We wish to uphold Clemson’s mission as a land grant institution and provide a suitable active green space for Clemson students.”
Funding for a new CATbus shelter that will be placed along the Red Line stop at Douthit Hills was also provided. The project is only being awarded partial funds from the Student Senate, while the rest of the funding is being made by Parking and Transportation Services.
To learn more about the Capital Improvement process and past projects with more images, go to www.mycusg.com/capital-improvements or reach out to Olivia Frazier, the newly-elected CUSG Secretary, at [email protected].
An earlier version of this article misattributed the source for the price of the Harvey Gantt statue. It was Sheldon Johnson, the project applicant, not Secretary Amanda Murray.
An earlier version of this article misstated where unallocated money goes. It goes into a Capital Improvement Account, not the Student Services Account.
An earlier version of this article was vague on the funding for the CATbus parking shelter. It is being funded in part by the Student Senate, with Parking and Transportation Services funding the remainder.
The Tiger regrets these errors and has since corrected them.
