a student today we'd still be a million square feet short of space for students," says Harry Arthurs, York's former president. Arthurs is commenting on the University's current building program and its space needs on which he's something of an expert. The Osgoode Hall Law School professor is the man responsible for radically changing the face of York campus during the 1980s when he put up $190 million-worth of new buildings during his presidency. Arthurs was also responsible for the development of much of York's current landscaped green space. York has a long history of space shortages, says Arthurs. "I lived on campus for years before I became president [1985] so I know all about the University's growing pains...it was uncomfortable and unattractive." One of the first things Arthurs did when he took office was to abandon York's master plan of the 1960s. "Like a lot of universities built here and around the world, we took a Brasilia-like approach. You see the same thing at Toronto City Hall. Lots of concrete plazas elevated to keep pedestrians and cars apart. But nothing much grows on concrete." Arthurs soon hired a full-time in-house planner while making plans for various ways to fund new buildings and campus improvements such as the Harry Arthurs Common, Vari Hall, York Lanes and the Student Centre. Despite the past (and present) building flurry, York is still far behind other universities in terms of giving students a place to sit, and profs a place to teach, he says. At the moment, York serves 12 per cent of the Ontario university population, but only has 7.6 per cent of the province-wide university space inventory. New construction on campus is a response by York, and other Canadian universities, to the predicted huge influx of students during the next decade. It will begin with the "double cohort" (in Ontario) and end with the children of Baby Boomers. Enrolment is expected to grow by 25 per cent over the next five years, and the elimination of Grade 13 in 2003 means as many as 88,000 high-school graduates will be demanding a place in Ontario universities. But there's some short-term relief in sight. Two new buildings are going up thanks to $77.48 million awarded from the provincial government's SuperBuild growth fund for buildings on the York campus.