Image description: Colorful graphic divided into sections. At the top is a drawing of the proposed quad design, which has an oval of grass in the center with a raised stage at the top. Seating areas enclose the grassy area on either side, and the bottom is open to the rest of the Quad. There is one ramp at the upper right leading from the grassy area up to the rest of the Quad. The grassy area takes up most of the surface area of the Quad, with passageways around it. Greenery and more seating are above and below the grassy area, close to Lecture Centers B and E. The poster also includes graphics of three people holding a sign together and a wheelchair user with shoulder length hair. The full text outlined in the graphic can be found below.

UIC Quad Renovation: We Do Not Approve The Quad Redevelopment Plan and Demand our Concerns to be Heard

We would like to inform and update you about the upcoming plan for the UIC Quad. Late last year we started gathering signatures on this petition asking the Chancellor for a meeting to voice our concerns. The Chancellor replied he heard us and wanted us to meet with members of the administration. We were able to meet with members of the UIC Administration including Vice Chancellor Coronado in late March and hear some of the proposed changes based on the feedback they have received from various groups, including ours.

While changes were made that added to the sustainability aspect of the proposed Quad Redesign, we believe our main concerns with the middle structure have not been addressed. When our concerns were brought up at the recent meeting they were continuously dismissed even when an alternative solution was proposed by one of the students to address mobility within the central structure.

The proposed design places a grassy structure directly in the middle of the quad. Some of the proposed changes to the center area that were shared with us during the meeting in March that were made to address our concerns are as follows:

• Center area dimensions were widened by ~4 ft.

• The incline of the grassy middle structure was decreased from 18 inches to 6 inches.

• Underneath the central area are plans of having permeated pavement that helps with water drainage and is more sustainable than concrete.

• There will be a rain garden structure and native plants planted on the perimeter of the redesign.

Our concerns around the Central structure remain around:

• That the central structure obstructs the flow of people around the Quad, even with 10 to 20 foot pathways, it's still a quarter of the space that is available now for people to walk.

• Concerns about how people will move through the grass space itself; if the grassy structure design remains, grass will be trampled on to move through the area (what’s aesthetically pleasing or sustainable about that?).

• Grass maintenance: Will the area just be covered in snow in the winter? If there is an Ice rink, is there a plan to make sure the snow being removed does not impede any walkways? Will the grassy area have to be closed off and not allowed to be used like the one in Millenium park and replaced often?

• During winter, it was mentioned that there’s more likely be an ice rink

• The administration could not answer if it would be free of charge for students and hours open for ice skating, as this would be based on programming.

• The administration also mentioned envisioning this place as a Maggie Daley ice rink:

• Maggie Daley attracts many people and if this happens at UIC during hours of classes, there will be more traffic for students.

• UIC has choices in East campus to pick locations for ice rink that would not impede the flow of individuals that move through the Quad from classes to library.

• The central structure will prohibit the ways students and organizations have historically operated through the quad. The quad is a space for the UIC to use as they please and this redesign will change the ways that is possible.

By signing on to this form, you are helping us create a larger and more aware community to shape a space that has been of historical significance in student organizing, protests, building community, and serves as one of the most transited spaces on the UIC campus. Help us maintain this legacy for the future. By signing on to this form, you are telling UIC Chancellor Amiridis and Quad planners that we do not approve the Quad redevelopment plan with the proposed middle structure. We demand that we continue to preserve the Quad’s historical significance and ensure sustainability and accessibility .