Minutes of Writers House meeting, 11/18
Results of Al's unofficial walkthrough with Physical Plant:
- house is in good shape
- some termite problems
- house has not been "fixed up" in thirty years (no maintenance)
- problems with heating on third floor, exposed pipes
- rewiring of house is needed (from 60 amp to grounded 200 amp)
- can knock down walls on either side of the fireplace
Report on Community partnerships:
- three school focus:
- University city high school - work with specific classes and students
- West Phila High School - falls under Penn and Ink. Sponsor
programs for students and teachers, after school and/or weekends.
- Coordinated on-line literary magazines (all schools) (print?)
- Could set up meeting with potentials and tour them through the house.
- High school kids among writers evening in the cafe (don't want to push
Penn students away)
Greg Djanikian's Group:
- mags and societies are interested in using our space
- We need to contact other Creative Writing professors in english
department for their input
- Contact editor of The Gazette
- Exchange programs at other universities
Networking and Hardware:
- Hardware proposal discussed
- Location of high-end/low-end computers varies on what we do with each
room - Idea to buy used computers to save money. Counter-arguement: need
computers with a longer life span to save upgrading cost in the long run.
Readings and Reading series':
- Readings can be taken from pennimen library to here
- informall affiliations with writing classes
- Elliot: Philo facility is larger, more beautiful than the WH. Direct
competition? Shawn: what could we do to not ignore it? Elliot: admit
competition with Philo. Fighting for people to come and speak. Al: this
is a house. philo is not a house, it is a conception. we don't
necessarily need the headliner readings. we are a facility, on the west
side of campus.
- writers house fellows - residency in dorms?
Rooms and space (and many ideas for use of the space):
- Perelman: more bathrooms. Suggest rennovation of 2nd floor bathrooms
to make them larger (more toilets), and unisex
- leaving the walls up on the first floor -- front room for hanging
out/readings, back room as quiet library or reading area.
- All computers upstairs? Solve problem of occasional email checker in
house?
- 2nd floor rear room as library/reading area? Modular work room? Need
there be a difference between two?
- 2nd floor front as University seminar classroom (they pay for a portion
of rennovation)
- There are more, but we need to decide among ourselves what to do with
each room and end that dialogue so we may move on to more concrete
planning. Al's proposal can say contrary information, but we still need
closure and, probably, compromise on these issues.
Hierarchy of affiliation:
- Alex: I didn't type it in because we were sitting around the kitchen
floor. Will someone email me and refresh my memory? Sorry.
Other Ideas/Projects:
- Deb will check out the university rules on food prep/presentation
- get printing press for room 109 (!?)
- calender for group schedules, in hardcopy and on web
- xerox machine?
- security: someone to be at an "information desk" to regulate flow of
visitors
- work-study students?
- the garden
- make the web page public before the term ends
- public relations/advertising before the house opens?
- Josh S. to set up appt. with Miriam Mann to consult on where to get
furniture. What furniture should we buy new?
- Hub members to be involved in touring of new affiliates through the
house -- Thursday afternoons? (standing invitation)
- We have a proposed budget of $70,000 to administration. How can we
justify raising the price tag?