I am writing this letter in response to the recent news that the GRID Lab of uptown Athens will be closing at the beginning of June. As an 8th grader at Athens Middle School, I go to the GRID Lab regularly, and I've always found it to have a fun-filled and energizing atmosphere for playing video games. Not only do many kids from the middle and high schools go there to play, but they also view it as an uptown destination. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the GRID Lab is a rendezvous point for friends. As there are already very few things for middle- and high school-aged kids in Athens to do, the loss of the GRID Lab will be a major blow to kids looking to have safe fun in the area.
Personally, I feel that the reasons OU has given for closing the GRID Lab (or at least the business part) are not sufficient. In the beginning, the research side of the GRID Lab was supposed to support the business side with grants; however, it sounds like the burden for supporting the place fell upon the business side. The business side of the GRID Lab has been steadily growing and succeeding. The debt has steadily decreased and the number of accounts has steadily increased. If OU shuts down the GRID Lab now, the GRID Lab will never be able to recognize its full potential. This would not only be a blow to the customers of the GRID Lab in the area, but also for the university because OU is the only university in the country to support an entity like the GRID Lab.
A very disturbing feature is the fact that OU is laying off the staff and manager of the GRID Lab. These people are college students who are friendly, funny and helpful, and should at least be placed in the new version of the GRID Lab if OU closes the business side. The manager is friendly, conscientious and someone who has really brought the GRID Lab off the ground. It seems a terrible shame to pull the plug on this great idea so soon and to cut these positions.
In my opinion, as someone who has used the GRID Lab for over two years, the article on the OU Web site does not tell the whole truth about the GRID Lab. The article says the GRID Lab will still be interacting with the community, but it will only be open to a few (maybe none!) of the people who have used it in these last few years. It ignores the positives for the community, especially its role as a gathering point for students. The article does not point out that the GRID Lab is moving closer to profitability. As a supporter of the Grid Lab, I would like to commend OU for creating it in the first place. However, I hope that OU will reconsider discontinuing the commercial side of the GRID Lab. If OU has any care for the kids in this community and the students of OU, they should look deeper into the situation and realize what a huge mistake closing the GRID Lab now will be.
Will Drabold is a resident of Athens.
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Letter to the Editor
