Senators disputed the utility of an additional statue on campus at last night’s Student Government Association meeting.

Matt Morrissey, Village senator, composed the resolution to recommend to University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J. “other uses for the `pasture’ (the green space at Vandeventer Avenue and Laclede Avenue) besides the Trova sculpture.”

Students learned about the new sculpture from the President’s Monthly Web Message.

Morrissey’s main claim was that this resolution does something “pro-active” for the University. “Let’s do something about this wasted space.”

The resolution included concerns about a campus already abounding with sculptures, students living in rooms not designed as permanent rooms, parking, and use of the area for sports and recreation.

Senator Rich Bergin, undergraduate commuter, said he wondered if the area could still be used for events such as Spring Fever and the booths from the MTV Campus Invasion tour.

“I don’t think that someone is going to move this 25-foot statue every time we have an outdoor concert,” Bergin said.

Numerous senators inquired about the length of time the “temporary” statue may remain on campus. Morrissey said, “It doesn’t matter if the statue is here for three months or 20 years-it’s a waste of space now.”

John Fusco, Graduate and Professional Student Association ambassador, said he was interested in what the artwork might look like on Laclede in plain sight of commuters.

“This sculpture is what people will associate with SLU. I’m scared that it will be really ugly,” Fusco said.

Executive Vice President Lauren Gretz said the resolution could only be made useful if it made actual suggestions for the space. “I don’t see this as being pro-active at all,” Gretz said.

In an attempt to make the resolution more powerful, Paul Woody, Senator of Arts and Sciences, amended the resolution.

After the amendment, it read: “To recommend to Fr. Biondi and upper administration use for the “pasture” by inviting the President or a representative of his office to meet with a student committee to discuss how best to use the space, and to set a timeline for use of set space.”

While Kathy Humphrey, vice president of Student Life, did not know how the long the sculpture would be kept, she did know that it would not be placed in a manner that would prohibit the use of the pasture for student events.

Even after the resolution was amended, it was tabled until next week’s meeting as the senators would be better educated about the issues surrounding the Trova sculpture.

During the open forum, Tom Hanley of Information Technology Services, made an announcement about possible upcoming difficulties with Internet services.

On Nov. 16, Network Services will change the University’s Internet Service Provider. This change could interrupt services for about four to 24 hours.

“When the University changes from our existing Internet Service Provider to our new Internet Service Provider there will be a disruption to some services,” stated a letter from Brad Frischkorn, manager of Network Services ITS.

Hanley advised any students experiencing difficulties to call ITS.