Save Asbury, Save Theme-Houses!
***UPDATES*** (Sign the Petition at bottom of page) ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ +[04/13/09]+ with 096 Signatures Hope your Easter weekend was peaceful! ___________________________________________________________________________ +[03/31/09]+ with 065 Signatures So far, all current Theme Houses will be running next semester; congratulations! Secondly, here are the "new" housing arrangements for this coming year: *Haselton: ---Asia Tree House ---Sprituality House ---Umoja House (split on two floors) *Eberhardt: ---Earth House ---La Ca Latina (25 & 26) ---Women's Concerns House Additionally, this coming Spring Saturday, we are planning to protest so that the Prospective Students can see how great the Theme Houses are to Drew University, etc. Like mentioned, the Theme House Living Council will be hosting a Block Party of the Theme Houses out on Hoyt Lawn, they will be bringing in The Minor Lift to play during this event, and the Theme Houses will showcase their Theme House to the Prospectives and Drew Community. New additions to this plan are that two house members from La Casa Latina will be having their Campus-Wide House events. More information soon! As you can see, this is going to be a huge event going on along with the already planned events of Spring Saturday. Hope you all can come out! ___________________________________________________________________________ +[03/25/09]+ with 051 Signatures We are hoping to acquire donations for which to put on a picnic later this Spring where each Theme House can demonstrate their purpose, activities, dorm life, etc. and showcase Asbury to the public to further explain how essential Asbury is to the Theme Houses and nonetheless, campus-wide activities and participation. We hope to have a musical performance, and as of right now, we are considering this band: The Minor Lift (see Links) Also, support our fellow Drew Community and their efforts to acquire Gender Neutral Housing! (see Links) Keep on the support!!! =D ___________________________________________________________________________ +[03/24/09]+ with 014 Signatures ....e-mail to all RDs, RAs, and HAs to help spread the word.... "Please forward the petition link to your residents and help support our cause as many of us are good friends of others on campus, leaders of great organizations, and top students in class. Our plight does not just affect Asbury and Eberhardt Residents, but that of the whole Drew Community. Your support will show the administration that the Theme Houses are not the only collective group affected by their decision. The displacement of the Theme Houses will affect all resident housing and reduce the number of programmable spaces on campus. As students of Drew University, we show the administration that the Student Body does care and that we are invested in our own future. Take responsibility as a member of the Drew Community. If you know of anyone OUTSIDE of Drew University who would contribute to this, please e-mail them as well. This include friends of Drew students, Drew Faculty, Staff, other workers, family members, donors, Alumni, etc. Thank you, your support is GREATLY appreciated!!! Alvinn Paulino, CLA '12 Drew – CM #1206 Madison, NJ 07940 Cell: (201) 674–5305" ___________________________________________________________________________ +[03/23/09]+ with 004 Signatures ....e-mail from Mike Kopas in response to Theme House Members at President Weisbuch's Open Hour on 03/16/09 and Theme House e-mail found in first update.... "Hi Casey, Thank you once again for coming in yesterday to open hour. President Weisbuch realizes the importance and urgency of this issue so he made a point to look into it and gather all the facts as soon as possible. Ultimately, he feels that the decision to take Asbury off-line is sound. It will maximize the use of space and conserve a significant amount of energy, etc...He has asked that HCH work with all of you to ensure that the move to Haselton encourages the continuation of community by returning Kitchens and setting up room assignments and locations that focus on theme house membership and traditions as best as possible. If I can be of any assistance during this process please let me know. Best, Mike" ___________________________________________________________________________ +[03/22/09]+ with 000 Signatures "[Drew Community, Alumni, and Interested Parties], We were informed right before Spring Break that Asbury Hall will be put off-line at the end of this semester. Asbury hall is home to La Casa Latina, Asia Tree House and Spirituality House. These three communities are socially and academically active in the Drew community as a whole. Each house has a mission to spread diversity and awareness about their cause. Aside from the groups' work programming, these groups form an intimate community and have a family-like structure. They require a common living space, a kitchen, and a location that houses approximately 20 students. Due to the current size of the floors in Asbury, we would like to keep the numbers of members the same so that no members are excluded from living in a theme house next semester. The way in which this information was given to us was certainly inappropriate. We received our theme house review applications over one month late, forcing us to compile two years' of information in two weeks. We received further stress because we found out during our reviews that Asbury was not an option for housing next semester. If we had been given an appropriate amount of time, we could have prepared ourselves and planned our applications around the potential of living in a building other than Asbury. We have no information as to who made this decision, and we would like to know. Information has not been shared, and what we have been told is not consistent. It is not our intention to stir trouble or to place blame, but we deserve to know the proper information. It has been proposed that our houses be moved to Haselton Hall because Asbury will be out of commission. According to current sources, Asbury will not be used for residence or for office space but simply left empty. It is our sincere request that, as a person connected to our community, you would express your disappointment with our situation. If you feel strongly about our cause, please email your concerns to czaboras@drew.edu with a statement of support. These will be compiled for our meetings with President Weisbuch and the trustees. If you would like to write letters on our behalf, please do. Any support we can get would be much appreciated. Thank you. –The Theme House HAs"
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