By Stan Arky (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: April 1, 2015
When I first heard the news that UFV was building its own Arbitrarium in the SUB, I was quite excited — I almost smiled. The building design and function is a relatively new concept that has been picking up popularity with campuses across the country. They are designed to give bureaucracy a proper functioning environment for systemic efficiency. This, of course, is what university is all about, and for a business student like myself, UFV’s lack of a proper Arbitrarium has been quite problematic. But then I read the plans.
“Not many people are aware of the concept of an Arbitrarium,” states the architectural designer Andrew Abox. He describes the facility as a like a round stadium, or a saucer.
“Most of the walls will be made of blast-proof steel, supported by twine and the best import lumber,” he describes. The interior is purportedly supposed to resemble a parliamentary environment, with decorated wood tableau creating a second ring inside the saucer. Abox says most activity will take place at the very centre, where rings of seats will be placed all facing away from one another, towards the outer wall. At the very centre of the room, at the backs of all the seats, there is to be a large waste bin.
“The waste bin is really the crux of the building,” says Ricardo Bum-Cheiszy, the project manager and long-time advocate of the Arbitrarium. “It’s the point of rotation for every meeting. It’s where bills are passed to for consideration.”
Notice a problem? The lack of filing cabinets. How can we expect to be productive in our new Arbitrarium without filing cabinets? Have these people even seen an Arbitrarium?
This is not the only issue.
“There were setbacks at first,” says Ricardo. “It took an inordinate amount of time to acquire the sheer volume of newer academic text material needed to construct the foundation for the facility.” Other setbacks have been reported over the past few months which are quite concerning, including the proposition of the construction of a Subway in the new SUB, which was said to overrule the potential bureaucratic atmosphere of the Arbitrarium.
“If a food establishment comes too near a place of bureaucracy, it tends to distract from business at hand,” claimed Ivan Damony, the project’s financial planner. “Very often we see bureaucracy crumble due to the proximity of food establishments. Budgets often get out of hand very quickly in these circumstances.” He goes on to claim that 15 per cent of all embezzlements happen in establishments founded too close to food proprietors.
Other setbacks have included an insurgence of bees, minor flooding, and re-forestation. Bum-Cheiszy expressed his concerns for the timing of the construction.
“Next year was the original projected timeline; however that may change in coming months,” he said. The dartboard in Bum-Cheiszy’s office already had several dates pegged to segments, although none of the darts seemed to have met a time. Somewhat understandably, Bum-Cheiszy declined to comment on the dartboard’s presence, citing “personal secrecy.” He did say, however, that the Canucks are doing well this year — a point I must agree with, purely from a business standpoint.
Despite these setbacks, the project will set new precedents for fiscal efficiency at UFV, with a new student fee introduced: the Student Aggression and Solution Plan fee. Damony stated earlier, though, that much of this funding would be put toward the new building, and not filing cabinets. When asked if students will see a return for their money, he carefully explained how these things work, and noted that funds don’t necessarily correspond to filing needs, or even student access.
“It is likely the new building will be off limits to students,” he said, deferring further comment to Bum-Cheiszy, who was asked about the plan in his fourth-floor office but noted that he was on vacation. Some students may find this fact distressing; however, I admit that for full bureaucratic efficiency, this seems logical. But logic doesn’t justify the lack of basic amenities.
We can all expect to see the Arbitrarium begin construction at some point in late December. Even though students will not have access to the physical building, it is legitimately exciting to see an increase in the bureaucratic decision-making at the university; however, I refuse to attend the red-tape cutting until I am certain that our Arbitrarium will have everything it needs, including resistance to possible flooding and, most importantly, cabinets for our important files.
