Not playing around

Project Playground struggles with funding and meets with President Angel

by Ashley Klann
Editor-in-Chief

A group of students on campus are serious about playgrounds, specifically the one on the corner of Downing and Florence. Project Playground has been busy this semester compiling

Photo Courtesy of Project Playground.

data from students and residents to know what will best replace the rundown space that exists there now. The group’s administrative coordinator, Katy Cleminson ‘12, is determined and excited about the progress they have made.

Currently, the lot is full of broken equipment, and with expensive initiatives, such as the renovation of Crystal Park and Downing Street, planned for Clark’s future students and residents were wondering why nothing had been done with the broken down playground owned by Clark. “Admissions told us that they don’t take their tours past it because they’re ashamed,” Cleminson said.

Project Playground spent time going door-to-door in the neighborhood surrounding the playground. “At the house next door, they knew Clark was doing work with the University Park Campus School and Downing Street, and they weren’t sure why the playground was being left out,” she said. “The park will be a way of representing Clark’s cohesion with the neighborhood.”

The group recently held a Block Party to gain support from students and local residents. They succeeded in getting 700 signatures from students.

Cleminson said Project Playground is networking with the Main South Community Development Corporation, who conducted a focus group over the past year to see what locals wanted.

“They asked what people want in empty lots in general, because there are so many in the area,” she said. “What they found was that people mainly wanted playgrounds, green space – meaning a grassy area with benches – or urban gardens, in that order.

Courtesy of Project Playground

“Now on our Facebook page, we have a poll where students can give us their input on which of the three suggestions they like best. They can also have an option for a write-in.”

Project Playground has also received data from the Main South Promise Neighborhood Partnership and is working to increase awareness. They plan on having another event in November and will be handing out bracelets courtesy of Initial Advantage.

With all of their sudden attention on the rundown playground, some may worry that the group’s efforts will be a flash in the pan, but Cleminson says their group is in it for the long haul.

“One of our questions was, ‘Will Clark students in the future maintain it?’ We’re not looking to do it and walk away. We don’t want it to return to what it is now; we want it to be a living part of campus.” Cleminson added that the group has planned for a part of their funds to go toward long-term maintenance of the lot, whatever it becomes in the end. They are also planning to use sustainable, long-lasting materials, like rubber, instead of mulch.

“Right now, our biggest concern is funding,” Cleminson said. The group attended CUSC’s event, “What would you do with $70,000″ and hopes to show their cause to be a worthy one.

“We’re hoping to rally and prove to council that we have a lot of student support behind this effort,” Cleminson said.

“It was really exciting to hear from other students what they would do with a little extra money, and I have tried to emphasize in my discussions with other project leaders that our initiatives are not by any means mutually exclusive; I believe we can all be flexible in our budgets and work together to create a truly remarkable student movement with these funds,” Cleminson added after the event.

The group’s next step was speaking with the administration. On October 17th, Project Playground visited President Angel during his office hours.

“[President Angel] seemed very excited to hear about the project and commended the way we have networked not only with students but the community and administration as well. The two points he brought up were sustainability and funding. To the first we explained our budget allocation, collaboration with student service events, and coordination with Physical Plant to ensure maintenance of the space. To the second we explained the accumulative surplus funds and the student support we have gathered around the project. At the end of the meeting, he wished us luck and asked we keep him updated on our progress.”

The group now plans to need with Jim Collins and members of Physical Plant to continue the process, hoping their funding comes through.

Whatever the lot becomes in the end, Cleminson is committed to keeping it accessible and sustainable. “We want to use the space. We don’t want to take out the trees; we want to use them – keep it natural,” she said.

Cleminson is no stranger to putting neighborhoods and playgrounds together. While abroad in Stellenbosch, South Africa in spring of 2011, she helped bring a playground to a suffering area.

“It was a really impoverished area. The children had parents who were working in local farms and vineyards. There was a lot of violence going on, and many of the younger kids suffered from poor motor skills.”

Project Playground has continued to increase awareness of their efforts on campus as well as those outside. “We’ve gained a lot of support from people outside the Clark community, including Casey Star, the Oak Hill CDC, and Barbara Haller. [Worcester’s] mayor Joe O’Brien also said he was in favor of the project at the event Informed Activism: Armed Conflict, Scarce Resources, and Congo.