Protest at Seattle U over nursing home closure
About 40 protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the SeattleUniversity administration building Thursday, saying the scheduledclosure of a campus nursing home contradicts the school’s core values. Forcing 135 residents to find a new home does not uphold the Jesuittradition of service to others and social justice, said sophomore MattSalazar, who organized the demonstration attended by students, staffand faculty. University officials said the Bessie Burton Sullivan Skilled NursingResidence — a three-story building with 60,000 square feet — needs tobe converted into dorm rooms, classrooms, science labs and facultyoffices for an institution with a growing enrollment and space demands. “They say they made this decision for the good of the students,”said Salazar, 19, the student campus minister for community service. “Idon’t want an elderly person kicked out of their home for my benefit.” The university’s decision turned on a basic question, senioruniversity Vice President Timothy Leary said: “Does it make sense torun and operate a skilled nursing facility given the pressing needs” ofspace on campus and the university’s educational mission? When the nursing home opened in 1990, the university had 4,600students. Now there are 7,200, and the average student age has droppedfrom 27 to 21, which has increased the demand for dorm rooms and otherspaces, Leary said.