Briana Troske

The Campus Design Committee is considering different alternatives to redesign the Jackrabbit Green to make it even more appealing to students and visitors.

The Jackrabbit Green is the land between The Union and H.M. Briggs Library extending towards Medary Avenue.

The option of building an amphitheater has been discussed at a couple of the committee’s meetings.

“We think it’s a good use of green space, and we think the student organizations will be able to use it quite a bit for their events,” said Chris Schmit, the committee chair and an engineering professor.

The committee is focusing on a couple of main issues for the Jackrabbit Green, including traffic flow and making it safe for both pedestrians and bikers. In the designated area, the committee also wants to make signage consistent and visually pleasing to help people find their way across campus.

“I think the committee is doing a good job at making our campus more appealing towards incoming students,” said Derek Schmidt, a sophomore pre-med student from Watertown.

The committee has three main focus areas: Jackrabbit Green, parking and new design standards. Schmit said the biggest struggle for the committee has been organizing everyone’s schedules and getting the overall workload done.

The use of sculptures in the design was deliberated among the committee members but was decided not to be included.

“We did not include it in this plan, but we are thinking of better ways for implementing a better strategy for sculpture placement,” said Schmit. “We would like to put a process into place to help manage the placement of statues, and we have been considering putting mini-campaniles across the campus.”

A major issue for the committee is that there may be a loss of trees due to the redesign. SDSU has been a part of the “Tree Campus USA” program. As part of this group, SDSU must meet standards to make sure there are different types and a set amount of trees on campus.

The committee is planning to move valuable tree specimens, relocating and replanting them. The main objective is finding a way to save memorial trees on campus.

During this entire process, the committee has been trying to get opinions from students. The committee will meet with the Students’ Association and the University Program Council to hear what the students have to say.

“We want it to be an open process with lots of input from students, staff and faculty,” said Schmit.

The redesigning process has several steps it needs to go through before any actions take place. The architects need to make designs to show the committee, and they will make changes to the issues the committee members comment on.

The committee is unsure of the cost for the redesign, but the money will be raised through alumni donations. The money is planned on being raised through phases and not all at once.

“I think the amphitheater and other additions would be sweet,” said Mandy Rolfes, a sophomore majoring in psychology and pre-occupational therapy from Spencer, Iowa. “It would make activities more fun and allow them to be held outside more.”