Space to be repurposed for use by clean energy initiative
Photo by Ethan Barkley.
On May 10, UVic closed the MacLaurin Learning Commons for renovations. A sign posted near the entrance to the bright, second-floor lounge states that the space has been repurposed for use by the Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) initiative, which will move in once renovations are completed in November.
Because of this, it will “no longer be available as a drop-in study space.”
According to the spokesperson, the ACET initiative brings academics and First Nations, as well as public, private, and philanthropic organizations together to find clean energy solutions.
While the renovation of the space came as a surprise to many students, a spokesperson explained that the MacLaurin Learning Commons was never intended to be permanent. The space used to be UVic’s Curriculum Library, but became a “temporarily assigned … common study area” when the collection was transferred to the McPherson Library in 2018, according to the spokesperson.
The MacLaurin Learning Commons is the best available space on campus for this initiative to call home, because of the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the climate-focused research that ACET will undertake, said the spokesperson.
“The new ACET office area will add new work spaces for co-op, Master’s and PhD students to conduct research on clean energy alongside postdocs and senior researchers.”
The spokesperson also expressed that the University recognizes the commons was a valued space by students, and added that they created more study spaces in 2022 and 2023 with the opening of Čeqwəŋín ʔéʔləŋ (Cheko’nien House) and Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House).
The MacLaurin Learning Commons, prior to its closure, was a two-floor study space in the MacLaurin D Wing, available for students to use on weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The commons had beanbags and whiteboards as well as regular chairs and tables, study booths and available computer monitors.
The commons was used primarily by students in the Faculty of Education, because the majority of education courses take place in MacLaurin, and the building houses education faculty offices.
“It was always pretty busy, but also pretty quiet, making it a good place to study,” said Lili Markel, a second-year elementary education student and President of the Education Students’ Association (EdSA).
Markel said that, in addition to the loss of the study space, EdSA no longer has the regular space it used to host meetings, socials, and events, like their yearly career fair.
“We’ve been scrambling to find alternate locations to host these events, just because we don’t have access to the learning commons anymore,” she said.
In exchange for the loss of the commons, she said, the university renovated other spaces in MacLaurin for Indigenous Education, as well as an Education meeting room. However, these spaces need to be booked in advance, said Markel, and they aren’t available for students’ general use.
Markel says the closure of the space was communicated to EdSA by the Faculty of Education, but that other students outside the association were blindsided by the change.
“Other students that I’ve talked to received no notice of this, and it was really, honestly a shock for many people coming back this year, finding out that it had been closed,” she said.
Justin Salinas, a fifth-year French and francophone studies student at UVic, said he used to use the learning commons because it was an inviting space, and well-equipped for group projects. Salinas told the Martlet that he was surprised and concerned to find the space had been closed.
“I understand that we are a research university, but a large part of our programming is directed with teaching, and so with the closure [of this], I don’t know if the university is really communicating its message that they value community on its campus,” said Salinas.
“This used to be such a nice space to study and hang out … it was kind of a common vibe,” said Markel, “and now we don’t have that.”
