The Student Access Gallery's fight to save its valued Foyer Gallery ended in victory last week when President Richmond stepped in.

After meeting last Thursday with several people including Art department Chair Betsy Boone, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Karen Carlton, and Provost Rick Vrem, President Richmond agreed to shift construction of a fiber-optic network hub from space in the Foyer Gallery to a corner of the art department office.

Student Access Gallery (SAG) co-director Cyrus Smith was thrilled to hear the news. He said that "President Richmond gets a huge thank-you from the students of the art department."

Smith and co-director Justin Mitman had started a petition to halt the project after being informed of the plans on Oct. 16, less than two weeks before construction was set to begin. They collected nearly 700 signatures before submitting their request to Richmond.

Richmond said that "although issues like this should not end up in the president's office, I was impressed with the students' efforts in this situation." He was encouraged to see the students getting involved, and wanted to help them out.

The construction plans had called for a 96-square-foot section of the Foyer Gallery to be to be cut to make room for the new telecommunications hub, which was part of a CSU-mandated infrastructure upgrade.

Engineers who were planning the upgrades did not know the space was part of the gallery because their blueprints indicated the gallery was unused lobby space.

When they learned about the plans, Smith and Mitman immediately began circulating their petition.

Smith also appreciated the cooperation SAG received from the art department. "The faculty has been really good at helping us out," he said.

The department agreed to give up a portion of their office as a last resort after another alternative location fell through. SAG had hoped to use a closet in the basement of the art building used by the Child Development department, but they could not.

Students in the art department were relieved to learn that the Foyer Gallery will be preserved.

Art senior Vera McLaughlin has been planning a show for about 35 students in a graphic design class since the beginning of the semester. The show, entitled "Graphics of Propaganda," is scheduled to go up on Nov. 21.

"There's no other place we could have put this show," McLaughlin said, "so we're really glad the gallery was saved."