MPH_FNLforWEB2

Graphic by Chris Hunter
A rendering of the new gym
From
with the current gymnasium building
the
and tennis courts. The
Ashes
new gym will be located behind the current gym and library.
MPH embarks on a $5 million campus renovation
By Suzannah Peckham
Hundreds of white cards will lie
beneath the floor of the new Manlius
Pebble Hill athletic center.
Wishes for Manlius Pebble Hill’s future are
scrawled across the cards — student wishes
for things like better Wi-Fi, more desserts
and windmills for renewable energy. Similar
to ashes from a fire, these cards supply the
foundation for something fresh.
The gym, rising like a phoenix from the
ashes of our wishes, will be the first major
physical change to campus as part of MPH
Rising, a school-wide initiative with four
parts: improved campus facilities, increased
faculty compensation, increased financial aid,
and continued program innovation.
These wish cards, like the student signatures
scrawled on the beams of the library
when it was built, represent the hopes of the
community for MPH as it emerges from the
rubble of its recent financial crisis.
“It’s a way to have a little piece of each
community member be part of the building,”
said Jennifer Neuner, Director of Events and
Communications.
Ground was broken for the gym in December
after several delays; the Town of De-
Witt gave approval for construction of both
the fine arts building and the gym on Nov. 3.
MPH plans to finish construction of both in
August. Completion of the gym will allow for
the old gym to be converted into a two-story
visual arts center with administrative offices,
currently in the Farmhouse, on the second
floor. Construction will also follow on a
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathmatics) park, which will be built over
the course of several years.
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