Committee meets today to discuss fountain's future

Photo courtesy of Ben Holmes NEW SOLUTION: A mock-up of the cylinder proposed by the fountain advisory committee. If the proposal is passed by the Architectural and Landscape Design and Planning committee, the cylinder would be 10 and a half feet tall and 32 inches in the diameter. It would be covered with a mirrored-finish, which would reflect images of the surrounding Purdue Mall.

By Kurt Esposito
Summer Editor

The Architectural and Landscape Design and Planning committee will discuss today the proposal of the fountain advisory committee to construct a 10 and a half foot stainless steel cylinder on top of the water jets of the Class of 1939 Water Sculpture.

Graham Cooks, a professor of chemistry and member of the planning committee, said, "I'm expecting a decision will be reached on at least one of the fountains (today)."

The advisory committee has not reached a decision on the Loeb Fountain, located in Founders Park.

The cylinder would sit on top of the water jets to prevent injuries caused from running through the high-pressure stream of water. The water level of the stream would be modified so that water would always shoot out from atop the device, ensuring people could still interact with the fountain.

It would also be covered in a mirror-like polished finish, which would reflect images of the surrounding Purdue Mall.

James McGlothlin, associate professor of health sciences, said he thinks the advisory committee did a good job but, "I'm not sure (the cylinder's) the final solution."

He said students would find ways to damage the cylinder or "figure out some way to turn that into a water cannon."

He said the student body should be even more involved — possibly with the students in the Schools of Engineering looking at other solutions and students in the School of Management doing a cost-benefit analysis of proposed solutions.

He is worried the cylinder proposal will be approved without enough input from the Purdue community.

The advisory committee was formed in April in response to student outcries against the plan to build fences around the two prominent fountains on campus. It has been an informal tradition for students to run through the fountains during such events as graduation and Boiler Gold Rush.

Cooks led a drive to obtain signatures on a petition against the fences.

The petition was authored by Paul Roales, a sophomore in the Schools of Engineering and a member of the advisory committee. He said the proposal to be discussed by the planning committee about the cylinder was the best solution in the opinion of the advisory committee.

The advisory committee also considered leaving the fountains the way they are, building fences and paying monitors to make sure no one runs through the fountains.

Roales said, "(The cylinder's) the solution we came up with. We'll just have to see what (the planning committee's opinion is)."

McGlothlin said, "We need to go to the drawing board a little bit more."

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