Pulliam Pool Closes

It's the end of an era on the SIU Carbondale campus... the Pulliam swimming pool closed Thursday for the final time.
The pool, a longtime fixture of Pulliam Hall, is closing to make way for renovations that will convert the space into classrooms and labs.  Several supporters held a "swim-in" during the noon-hour in protest of the pool's closure. They say the pool and gym serve a community interest and they're concerned that some specialized classes and programs will be lost. SIUC Chancellor Rita Cheng says she believes there are plenty of resources available in the community to accommodate those programs and swimmers begin displaced by the pool's closure. The Pulliam Hall renovation is part of a six-million dollar project that will relocate faculty and students in the school of Art and Design from the Blue Barracks the program has called home for more than 20-years.