On March 2, 2019, Washington University informed a select set of student groups that they planned to turn the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A into office spaces after May Commencement 2019. Later, Provost Holden Thorp announced that the Writing Center, College Writing Program, part of the Title IX Office and part of Cornerstone: The Learning Center would move into the space, saying “The building has a long history of academic and student use, and this is the logical next step in its mission.” Our question is: For whom is this the next logical step?

Students weren’t part of the conversation to eliminate the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A. Students weren’t asked how this change would impact student groups. Students weren’t asked what accommodations would be needed to handle these changes. Students weren’t included whatsoever.

However, if the administration had asked, we could have told them the truth: The Gargoyle is irreplaceable. This space is used almost every day for dance practices, workshops, music rehearsals and theater runs. Not only that, but as the only large, free and non-Bon Appetit exclusive space, the Gargoyle is a vital space for meetings, banquets, formals, performances and other large-scale programs. Looking over the reservation data for 2018, the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A, together, were reserved for a total of 2,674 hours by over 50 different student groups. That’s enough to have 24-hour programming for 111 consecutive days. This proves that the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A are necessary and irreplaceable spaces on campus.

During cultural performances such as Lunar New Year Festival, Black Anthology, Carnaval and Diwali, the Gargoyle will hold the 200-plus dancers and performers as well as every prop, instrument and costume for the shows. Because the Gargoyle is the same size as the Edison Theatre stage above it, this space is the only place these performance groups can create dance formations and practice at full-scale. Without the Gargoyle, the future of these shows is up in the air.

Part of Wash. U.’s mission statement is that it “intends to attract people of great ability from diverse backgrounds.” Check any website, pamphlet or handout geared towards diversity, and odds are that you will find at least one photo of these shows gracing the front cover. These shows are what Wash. U. uses to demonstrate the diversity and inclusion within our campus, so why are they making it harder for us to program them? Why are they not helping us figure out a solution? Why are they making it harder for us to fulfill the mission of this university? Why are they capitalizing on the backgrounds of these students while blissfully ignoring their needs?

Student groups hosting concerts in the Gargoyle are also left with little recourse. No other venue on this campus has any adequate sound system with enough space for an audience. KWUR and Social Programming Board have relied on the Gargoyle for their on-campus concerts for years, and the space allowed them to bring nationally touring artists to campus. Without the Gargoyle, they will have to look at off campus venues that cost multiple thousands of dollars, making large-scale events much less feasible for student groups. Without the Gargoyle, campus traditions like KWUR Week will have to end.

In their email, Wash. U. provided a few alternative venues after the elimination of the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A: The Performing Arts Department’s studios, Umrath Lounge and the Sumers Recreation Center’s studios. However, these spaces are inadequate. All will have time restrictions on student group use and some charge $25 per hour. If we multiply that cost over hundreds of hours of practice and a number of student groups, we are looking at multiple thousands of dollars being taken away from student group programming to use towards room reservations.

Few details have been provided, so we decided to reach out to these venues and get the details student groups need. We talked to the Performing Arts Department, Department of Athletics and Event Management in the Department of Campus Life to figure out a way to organize not just the scheduling, but also how to handle cultural show performances. In every conversation, it seemed like no one had a clue as to how we were going to get through this transition. In fact, most of them didn’t even know what was going into the Gargoyle until the provost’s announcement. So, it seems we can’t fix the problem even if we wanted to do so ourselves.

In the announcement, Wash. U. also mentions that the Gargoyle will become a center for academic and student-facing programs. However, the proposed changes will lead to the College Writing Program, Title IX Office and Cornerstone all having two separate offices in two separate locations. Students have already expressed concerns that they don’t know where to access various resources—including these offices—at Wash. U. It doesn’t make sense to split up these three offices and further complicated the maze that is finding resources on this campus.

Throughout the past five days, we have worked tirelessly to simply understand why this change is happening, but each new conversation has brought more and more questions. We have exhausted every possibility, both through our own means and through the campus departments willing to work with us. Now our only option is to implore Wash. U. to save the Gargoyle and Mallinckrodt 100A.

We have shown you that this space is vital to student group programming. We have shown you that we use this space to continue the missions of our student groups and the university. We have shown you that we need this space. What else do we need to do for you to see that eliminating this space eliminates a vital part of our Wash. U. experience?

Your student group leaders,

Rory Vu Mather, Student Union Vice President of Public Relations
Grace Egbo, Student Union President
Shelly Gupta, Student Union Vice President of Finance
Steven Kish, Student Union Vice President of Administration
Charlotte Pohl, Student Union Vice President of Programming
Nick Krantz, Student Union Chief of Staff
Alexa Jochims, Student Union Treasury – Activities Committee Chair
Agneesh Dasgupta, Student Union Speaker of the Treasury
Arjan Kalra, Student Union Treasury – Budget Committee Chair
Tyrin Truong, Student Union Speaker of the Senate and President-Elect
Beth Wiesinger, Student Union Vice President of Public Relations-Elect
Ariel Ashie, Student Union Vice President of Finance-Elect
Anne He, Student Union Senate – Projects Committee Chair
Rithvik Kondai and Shayana Seneviratne, Ashoka Co-Presidents
Noor Bekhiet and Omar Jeelani, Ashoka Co-Cultural Chairs (Diwali show directors)
Grace Choi and Sarah Lee, Samulnori Co-Presidents
Jack Elliott-Higgins, KWUR 90.3 FM General Manager
Adin Ehrlich, Social Programming Board President
Ashwathy Goutham, WashU Raas President
Aumesh Misra, WashU Bhangra President
Muskaan Jain, WU Garba President
Katherine Yang, YoWU Choreo Chair
Porter Durham, WUSTL Club Fencing President
Stephanie Lushniak, Greenleafs Group Coordinator
Taylor L. Bailey, Black Anthology Producer
Jasmine Pickens, Association of Black Students President
Carson Borbely, KWUR 90.3 FM Events Director
Lucy Chen and Ania Lewis, PL4Y Co-Presidents
Nikita Joshi, WashU Chaahat Captain
Jiyoon Kang and Kuu Chen, LNYF 2020 Executive Directors
Dawn Lum and Doyle Lokitiyakul, LNYF 2019 Executive Directors
Kuu Chen and Kelsey Donovan, WUHHU Co-Presidents
Rintsen N. Sherpa and Andrew Sun, WU Cypher Co-Presidents
Sthitadhi Chakraborty, Bear Nations Varsity Band President
Sofia Orelo, Association of Latin American Student President
Mia Hamernik and David Leon, Association of Latin American Students Carnaval Co-Chairs
Maria Cortez Lopez, Mariachi Cuicacalli Treasurer
David Leon, Alpha Psi Lambda President
Kehui Wang and Michael Lee, Asian Multicultural Council Co-Presidents
Amy Chen and Chase Latour, Partners in East St. Louis Co-Presidents
Angela Huang, Chinese Student Association President
Elise Hu, Asian Christian Fellowship Co-President