St John Fisher College experienced some growing pains in the 2006-07 academic year.

It began in September, with the largest incoming class in Fisher’s history; 568 new students and 275 transfer or readmitted students arrived on campus, a four percent increase in enrollment. Due to the high demand for on-campus housing, roughly two out of every three freshmen were placed in triples.

The large student population led some to voice complaints about crowding on campus, including the dining hall and weight room.

“It was definitely really crowded at first with all the new freshmen,” sophomore Lauren Ianuzi said. “But as people learned their schedules, you didn’t have everyone going to dinner at five or to the weight room at nine. Once things settled, it definitely helped.”

In addition to new students, Fisher saw some other new arrivals on campus. The Wegman School of Pharmacy was dedicated on a ceremony held on Sept. 12. The inaugural class is made up of 55 students due to graduate from the program in 2010.

Robert Wegman, who donated $5 million to build the School, died on April 20, 2006, shortly after it was announced that he would donate $8 million to construct the Wegman School of Nursing. The donation was the largest in the College’s history.

The School of Nursing, expected to open in fall 2007, will be connected to Ward Hall by a covered walkway and will connect to the academic buildings via Pioch Hall. The building will also house the Wellness Center.

As Fisher continues to expand, junior Brad Huber believes that some decisions need to be made about the College’s future.

“It’s definitely been growing at a fast rate,” Huber said. “We’re getting to the point where we need to make a decision about where it’s going, the size, how we want Fisher to be.”

Sophomore Iaen Nylund agreed, also expressing his concerns.

“Fisher isn’t built to hold a ton of people,” he said. “It’s a small college, which we value. The more people we have, maybe the more opportunities, but also, you’re losing a lot of the little things we love about Fisher.”

Lavery Lawn, a popular area for students to congregate in the center of campus, was inaccessible to students all year, as it was used as a satellite area for construction equipment.

“I think it makes campus look shabby,” Ianuzi said. “It’s not as pretty as it usually is. I’m a tour guide, and I usually tell people how everyone relaxes on the lawn and does homework there. It’s difficult, because I always tried to play it up.”

“It’s my favorite part of campus,” Nylund said. “When I found out we weren’t going to be able to use it, I was like ‘this sucks.’”

Huber, a member of the Student Government Association e-board, learned that the lawn would be inaccessible in August, along with the rest of the board members. SGA sent out a campus-wide e-mail apologizing for the inconvenience.

Huber called it “a big disappointment” that students were not able to use the area, but is enthusiastic about the future of the space after viewing the proposed renovation plans, which involve a sidewalk around the area that would be accessible to emergency vehicles.

He also liked that the plans were centered around the red maple that currently exists in the middle of the lawn.

“It’s nice that they’re taking into account the natural features,” Huber said. “That’s one of the few areas on campus that has existing mature trees.”

On-campus parking proved to be an ongoing issue during the year.

During the fall semester, a grassy area near East Ave. was designated as overflow commuter parking. However, weather eventually rendered the area unusable, and commuters voiced concerns about the difficulty of finding a parking space.

On Jan. 12, two days after semester break ended, resident students holding Lot D permits were informed that the lot had been designated a lot for commuters and faculty and were told to move their cars to the Park & Ride lot.

Because of the issues Fisher’s growth presents, an increased effort has been made in opening lines of communication between students and administration. For example, the Student Government Association (SGA) Assembly has been changed to better address concerns. Assembly was broken into subgroups to focus on various issues, with meetings based around one issue.

On Jan. 15, an emergency Assembly meeting was held to focus on the parking situation, with the result being a proposal for changes that was delivered to administration.

No changes suggested were actually enacted. However, campus leaders such as Nylund, a resident assistant and president of Fisher Pride, believe that the strides in communication made during the year bode well for the future.

“There has definitely been improvement,” he said. “There are still some problems, obviously, such as the parking decision, but overall there’s been improvement. It’s a lot of work, but we’ve taken a big step in the right direction.”

Huber, as a part of SGA and also as a resident assistant himself, agreed.