Perelman Quad stuns UA, PAC

Some still favor Revlon plan Student leaders reacted to the replacement of the Revlon Center with the proposed Perelman Quadrangle plan with a mixture of surprise, optimism and disappointment. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella said he is dismayed by the change in plans. But he added that without having read the whole proposal, he was not sure exactly what its effect on students would be. "I'm very disappointed that the Revlon Center will not be a reality under this plan," he said. "But I don't want to make an assessment of the plan before I see it." The UA's recently released Project 2000 included several recommendations for a new campus center -- none of which anticipated that the Revlon Center proposal would be killed. Debicella said the key issue in responding to the new plan is whether the Perelman Quad will serve students as well as the Revlon Center. "What [the Perelman Quad] has to accomplish is the goal of getting people to think of the Perelman Quad as the campus center," he said. "If it's just going to be the renovation of some building and putting new things in, it's not going to be a campus center." Performing Arts Council Chairperson Rosalie Will, a College senior, said she preferred the new plan to the Revlon project. "I think the plan over all is a good idea," she said. "I think it could benefit the University in a number of ways, and I'm very much in favor of it." Will said she favors this plan because more space will be available to performing arts groups. She added that the fact that all of the space will not be contained in one building does not bother her. "If I'm in a performing arts space that's in a building on 40th Street, that's where I am," Will said. "I don't necessarily think that centralizing is the best idea." But Will added that she was concerned that performing arts groups may not be consulted in further planning of the Perelman Quad. "I'm a little apprehensive of the role that performing arts will play in [the Perelman Quad's] development," she said, adding that she questioned whether Irvine Auditorium could meet all the needs of the University's performing arts groups. Under the Perelman Quad plan, Irvine would be renovated and most of the building would be devoted to performing arts. But Will said the renovations may not be performed with PAC's needs in mind. "We don't just need meeting rooms and office space," she said. "Our needs are much more technical and much more specific." Will said she was waiting to see more of the administration's plan before she passed final judgment on the proposal. She added that she hopes that the conversion of the Eric 3 movie theater site to a performing arts complex will not be cancelled because of the Perelman Quad. Both Will and Debicella said they were very surprised by the change of plans. "I could not believe it," said Will. "I was surprised that it happened right now, but I had always thought this was the solution to begin with."