In response to a recent decision to tear down the Child Development Laboratory (CDL), several parents of preschoolers have created a petition asking university administration to keep a childcare center in the middle of campus.

Slated to begin in September 2006, the southern part of the Henderson Building, which houses the CDL, will be destroyed to make space for a new four-story facility for College of Health and Human Development classrooms and offices.

The parents, who are mostly Penn State employees and graduate students, collected 322 signatures from faculty, staff and students who are in favor of maintaining the amount of childcare on campus. They delivered the petition to Penn State President Graham Spanier and Executive Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson yesterday.

Political Science Associate Professor Lee Ann Banaszak said there are more than 200 children on the waiting list for a spot in the university day care program.

Banaszak, a mother of two children involved in the CDL and one of the leaders of the movement to keep the current amount of on campus, signed the petition.

"I know other faculty members that signed up when they were pregnant and didn't get a slot," Banaszak said. "In my mind, that's the issue in a nutshell. There is a huge demand for this."

Children and staff from the CDL will move to the Bennett Family Center, another on-campus childcare center, located at the intersection of Bigler and McKean roads.

None of the children currently enrolled will lose their placement, however, the consolidation process will limit future enrollment by 10 to 20 places, said Steven Zarit, head of the Human Development and Family Studies department.

"I know parents are upset and frustrated," Zarit said. "It's over the general issue that they feel there is not enough childcare in the community."

He said the department is facing a shortage of space on campus.

"There are needs for childcare in the community, and we understand that," Zarit said. "But our resources are limited, too."

Parents have accused Penn State of promoting a "family-friendly" employment environment but failing to accommodate parents of young children. They have also said that university officials did not consult expert sources when making their decision.

In an e-mail message, Raymond Coward, dean of the College of Health and Human Development, said Penn State offers a variety of programs to support employees with children.

Coward said that even after the consolidation, Penn State would still offer more preschool care than other Pennsylvania universities.

Seven-year-old Maya Snyder attended the CDL and started her own petition when she learned of the petition begun by her father, research associate Eric Snyder, started to keep the program going.

"I feel bad because lots of people will need it later," Maya Snyder said. "People are trying to get into the center but there isn't enough room."

State College Mayor Bill Welch went to preschool at the CDL in the 1940s and said he has "vivid memories" of the experience.

"I just think it's unfortunate that we would lose the opportunity to have kids in the heart of the city," Welch said. "It was an opportunity that I had over 60 years ago."

Edna Bennett Pierce, who has donated over $5 million to the school of Health and Human Development, including the donation of the Henderson playground in 1990, said she plans to speak with Coward when she visits State College this weekend.

Pierce said she has not been given specific details on the plans of the college yet, but she "certainly would hate to see less childcare" on campus.

Zarit said Penn State has not yet hired architects, and there are no floor plans for the new building.