Committee Aims to Re-Imagine
the Village Commons Via Newsgroup

What would you like to see become part of The Village Commons? A new committee wants your suggestions.

How might the Village Commons be improved? That's the question being asked in a newsgroup launched this week, "mhc.village-commons." The newsgroup is one effort of the Committee on the Commons, a faculty subcommittee created last month and chaired by Professor of Economics Fred Moseley. The committee's purpose is to "discuss ideas about how the Village Commons might better serve the needs and interests of the Mount Holyoke community and especially Mount Holyoke students," according to Moseley.

Moseley says the Committee on the Commons, a subcommittee of the Faculty Planning and Budget Committee, was "established at the request of President Creighton to reconsider the Village Commons and its relation to the College." Faculty/staff committee members are Jane Brown, Linda Laderach, Mary Jo Maydew, Tom Millette, Fred Moseley, John Rapoport, and Beverly Tatum. Student committee members are Radley Emes, Katherine Gordon, and Anastasia Kokkinos. The group will relay suggestions and recommendations to President Creighton.

Among the initial possibilities the group raised for community comment are adding to the Commons a pub/coffeehouse, drugstore, inexpensive ethnic restaurant, inexpensive clothing store, music store with used CDs, natural foods store and/or bakery, and an all-night food place. The committee welcomes comments on these ideas and additional suggestions. Send comments through the newsgroup or via email to village-commons.

Here's how to subscribe to the newsgroup. While in the main menu of tin, type a capital S. The system will then prompt: "enter regex subscribe pattern." Type "mhc.village-commons." This newsgroup will then show up in your list of newsgroups selected when you enter tin. You can then read postings and post messages of your own.