Students walking past the Social Science Building patio may have wondered about the disappearance of the tables by the food vendors.

It has been decided to remove all the tables from the area so that they can be repainted by the Facilities Department and relocated to a different area.

Director of Student Activities Holly Bogdanovich said that this decision is a result of a plan initiated by the student government last year to have more seating by the game room and the food court.

She said that in the process the student government was receiving complaints from the students about the vandalism and the indecent material scribbled on the tables located by the Social Science Building patio.

Students were also concerned about trash being pushed down the hole in the middle of the tables.

Members of the student government met with the Facilities Department to discuss this issue and came up with the plan to have the tables repainted and moved to a new location by summer.

However, this decision had to be stalled due to budget and time constraints.

Bogdanovich said that there is no plan at present to put new tables by the Social Science Building because in the past multiple efforts to keep them clean have gone in vain, therefore the tables are being relocated where they will be treated well.

“Currently there are no plans to put new tables, but if the students express the need of having a sitting area, we will definitely consider it,” she said hinting at a slight possibility.

She also pointed out that if a decision is indeed made about putting new tables by the Social Science Building, they will probably be mesh tables, similar to those by the Elbow Room, so that they cannot be easily damaged or vandalized.

Shaun Peak, in charge of the Zebra Coffee Company located at the Social Science Building patio, was surprised to found out that the tables will not be put back.

“I can’t believe it. Students wait here all the time for their classes or to be picked up, and when it rains they need a place to sit under a shelter. There definitely needs to be a sitting area here,” he said in disbelief.

He also said that recently he has had students complaining about the removal of the tables from the area.

Armando Garcia, philosophy major, was also taken aback and wondered why would there be food vendors in an area with no place to sit.

“We need to have tables here otherwise there is no point of having food vendors out here. They should at least put mesh tables here,” he said.

Bogdanovich said that the date to relocate the old tables to the food court and game room area has not been set yet, but the Facilities Department is probably looking for a time when there will be less people around the area, as it is an intricate process to place the tables at their new location.