Penn State faculty and community members gathered at a rally Friday to present their ideas for the 155 acres of Circleville Farm.

A group of more than 80 people filled the University Faculty Senate board room to hear different visions for the piece of land in Ferguson Township owned by Penn State. The crowd occupied all the chairs in the room and continued to line the walls and floor space to listen to various speakers talk about the land's history and its possible futures.

Originally, a vote on whether to approve the sale of the land to developers had been scheduled for the Board of Trustee's agenda. However, earlier in the week it was decided to postpone the vote for about six months.

At the rally, the speakers shared their ideas of what they hope Circleville Farm could be.

"The potential for Circleville is immense," said Tim Dougherty, Class of 2002, who led the rally.

Carolyn Sachs, head of the women's studies program, talked about Penn State's use of Circleville Farm as an instructional location.

"It was set up to teach students, provide a space where the community could spend time, and give farmers an opportunity to learn about the land," she said.

Sachs cited examples of the work different groups of students did on the land to describe its importance in education. She said Penn State's initial use of Circleville Farm as a teaching mechanism was a new concept when it was originally developed.

"At that time, we were a leader among agricultural colleges in using the land," she said. "Now we are lagging behind."

Different speakers also voiced their fears of what would happen if Circleville Farm space were developed.

"The destruction of the green space around us is becoming numbingly commonplace," said Peter Arnett, associate professor of psychology.

Arnett said the ideals presented in the rally were a beginning in the support of the preservation of Circleville Farm, but they are not enough.

"For ideals to become anything, they must be manifest in action," he said.

Dougherty said Circleville's future would have a large impact on the community.

"It is the last amount of green space that large in the area," he said. "It could become the Central Park of State College, or it could become just another plot of townhouses."

Jim Eisenstein, professor of political science, emphasized the permanence of a decision to build on the land.

"Once this beautiful land is sold, it is gone forever," he said. "We can't buy it back in a couple of years and tear down all the houses and developments."

Eisenstein focused on the benefits of keeping the land and continuing to use it as a means of providing students with firsthand experience.

However, he said the decision to postpone finalizing plans for Circleville Farm would be beneficial for the university, regardless of what option was chosen.

He said if Penn State delayed making a decision for a couple of years, and then ultimately chose to sell the land, it would still benefit by gaining a better market price for it.