In response to concerns about plans for a road through the area near the Nittany Lion Shrine, Penn State officials have scheduled a public forum to gather input about the West Campus project.

The forum comes after last week's Undergraduate Student Government Senate proposal to inform officials that USG doesn't approve of placing a road next to the Nittany Lion Shrine. The action also asked that students be part of any revision process that might occur.

"We want to involve all the student body in the decision, and in order to do that we're going to have the public forum," said Paul Ruskin, Office of the Physical Plant spokesman.

The forum will be held Nov. 9 from noon to 1 p.m. in 112 Kern Building, and anyone interested in the expansion plans may attend.

Members of USG have also been invited to meet with Eliza Pennypacker, university director of planning and design, some time before the forum to clarify their major concerns.

"I'm really excited that he (Ruskin) contacted us and that Eliza Pennypacker is going to meet with us," said USG Senate President Mike Fazio.

It's important to remember, Pennypacker said, that the plans are still in the beginning stages and haven't yet been approved by the Penn State Board of Trustees.

But as the draft stands now, part of Pollock Road, between Burrowes Road and North Atherton Street, will be closed to make room for the new Information Sciences and Technology Building.

The IST building will arch over traffic to provide a pedestrian crossing connecting the campus with West Campus, according to the current plan. The building will also hold an atrium, a café and a high-tech cybertorium, Pennypacker said.

Traffic will be redirected from the Pollock Road-Atherton Street intersection to a new section of Curtin Road beginning in fall 2001.

The proposed redirection will travel near the shrine and some student representatives are concerned about the prospect of bringing too many vehicles too close to the landmark.

Pennypacker, however, said the plan would actually enhance the site of the Nittany Lion Shrine, making it more visible and adding more greenery to the area.

"I take the Nittany Lion Shrine very seriously," she said. "I think frankly having the shrine sitting on a parking lot doesn't give it the dignity it deserves."

The shrine isn't the only Penn State landmark that will see some changes as the university grows. As the plan stands now, the University Gates on North Atherton and Pollock Road will also have to be relocated, Pennypacker said.

Though the whole plan is still a draft, new locations for the gates are already being proposed, she added.

Charles DuBois, director of communications for the School of Information Sciences and Technology, said that while he is excited about the plans for the new IST building, he realizes that they are tentative.

He added that the traffic redirection isn't entirely because of the new IST Building and traffic patterns will need to change in order to complete the proposed West Campus construction.

"It's a misimpression that traffic is being rerouted wholly because of our building," he said.

As the plan stands now, the building will offer a safer way for pedestrians and bikers to cross North Atherton Street, DuBois said.