Just a few months ago, the possibility that the 2009-2010 academic year would be the last for the Outdoor Leadership Center (OLC) felt very real for student managers Keenan Brugh and Luke Gellerman. Thanks to the problem solving skills of students and faculty, the OLC is open for business again this year.
Facing the possibility of being cut due to the school’s budget woes, the OLC has made a variety of concessions to stay in operation. Reduced funding has forced the OLC to scale back to half the employees it had last semester. In addition, the climbing wall in the Warner Palestra will now be run by the athletic department instead of the OLC. “Even without the climbing wall, it is still a big cutback,” Brugh said.
The OLC will continue to rent gear to students for free and host events, including events on the climbing wall such as Cosmic Climbing and Women on the Wall.
“We have used this as an opportunity to cut back and deal with what we have,” Brugh said.
The OLC will now operate under the authority of the Arboretum. Both student managers feel this is a “natural fit” for the OLC. Due to the fact that the OLC is a student organization, the school hired John O’Reilly to serve as a liaison between the OLC and the Arboretum.
“Overall, I think the changes ended up being a good thing,” Brugh said.
Many students fought hard to keep the OLC, collecting signatures and working with the school to reach an agreement. Brugh heard about the College Bound trip to the Boundary Waters led by both the OLC and Peer Resource Program (PRP) when he first visited CSB/SJU.
“If it wasn’t for the OLC and PRP, I would not have come to this school when I was looking at schools,” Brugh said. He ended up making several lasting friendships and said he had a head start going into college because of this unique experience that these groups offer.
“We go to school in a place that has thousands of acres of beautiful land. It’s a unique campus; make the most of it,” Brugh said.
Another opportunity the OLC provides for CSB/SJU students is managerial positions in a small business environment. Both student managers agree being a manager at the OLC has helped prepare them for life after college. The OLC was also forced to deal with the recession just as any other small business.
“With so many cuts being made to the school, we really need to look at how efficient can we be?” Gellerman said.
“We’re very glad to be here and we’re going to work our hardest to serve current and future students,” Brugh said. The OLC has already rented out equipment to over 40 students in the first week of operation.
“It’s going very well. I’m extremely happy that this situation turned out the way it did,” Brugh said.
However, Gellerman realizes the OLC has to be ready for anything in the future.
“If it comes down to it, where we need to argue our case, we’ll do it again,” Gellerman said.