Cave Hill Students Gifted New Outdoor Study Space
23 September 2021
Additional outdoor seating for study and reflection is now available to students at The University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus following the handing over of The Pondside Students’ Recreational Space on Monday.
This was made possible by The UWI Alumni Circle, in collaboration with The UWI Office of Business Development and the Office of Alumni Relations/Student Enrolment and Retention Unit.
Principal, Professor Clive Landis, welcomed the new facilities and dedication of the area adjacent to the Roy Marshall teaching Complex, noting the recommendation by health officials that spending more time outdoors at this time was healthier and safer, given the easier transmissibility of the coronavirus in enclosed spaces.
“The need for such [open] spaces has been underscored by the challenges associated with living through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We are well aware of the mental toll that persons in our campus community have experienced over the last 18 months from the national lockdowns, curfews, isolation requirements, and the one that is particularly distressing to our students, physical distancing,” Landis said.
He noted that these circumstances have been mentally taxing, particularly on young people who are currently longing for the resumption of the traditional university experience.
“Amidst all this readjustment, finding spaces to study or simply relax and take a break can prove challenging. And so, this latest Student Recreational Space, better known as The Pondside, is a timely feature of the campus,” Landis added.
Chair of The UWI Alumni Circle, Saskey Forde, said The Pondside was the first project to be sponsored under the campus’s beautification component of the Giving Partners Circle.
She also highlighted the timeliness of the amenities donation, considering the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic which she noted has brought the world to its knees, altered how we go about our daily lives and changed how many of us view life.
“More focus is being placed on mental health, which includes our emotional and social wellbeing; how we think, feel and act can be impacted. Our mental health can determine how we deal with stressful situations, relate to others and make choices,” Forde said.
She also urged students to treat the area with respect and leave it free of litter so that others can also enjoy it.
The Pondside Students’ Recreational Space consists of five tables and benches with paving stones located in an area with Wi-Fi access. They were built by SBT Building & Construction Inc which also donated one of seating spaces while the campus’s Office of Institutional Planning and Infrastructural Services (INPLAIS) installed the electrical works and carried out the landscaping.
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