Barnett Hall construction for DPS causes concern for Truman Media Network

For the past year, Barnett Hall has been undergoing renovations to build a new space for the Department of Public Safety which has raised concerns among their neighbors, the Truman Media Network.

This construction included adding new doorways at either end of a hallway with keypads and renovated rooms tailored to DPS’s needs. Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Tim Walston said those doorways were added to limit general public access to DPS’s internal spaces.

After moving the academic programs out of the building at the end of the 2025-26 school year, Walston said DPS had identified aspects of Barnett that would be more useful for them rather than staying in the General Service Building. The building currently hosts three organizations as well as the Truman Media Network and Esports. By early summer, Walston said Truman planned to close the second floor and move Esports to Magruder Hall instead. 

“[The goal] was to figure out the best use for Barnett Hall and convert it into a building that contains many of the service areas of our campus,” Walston said. “DPS was really outgrowing their space in general services, so giving them more space [in Barnett] made sense.”

For TMN Advisor Don Krause, there was a concern about the construction affecting student journalist’s access to their spaces. Krause said within DPS’s hallway, there is also a TMN equipment and video production room. While Krause said TMN had been assured by Walston they would still be able to access these rooms, he is worried having to go through DPS may hinder staff member’s abilities to carry out their tasks.

Although Krause said he was aware there would be some general renovations to fit DPS’s needs, he also said he did not expect construction to go to the magnitude that it did. He said he was not aware of that part of the construction around TMN’s spaces until a student brought it to his attention.

While Krause said he is worried about TMN’s situation in Barnett, he also said he appreciated staff members’ efforts to work through it.

“I know it’s not the most ideal conditions, but I appreciate [TMN’s] efforts in still putting out their products and doing the things that they do within our student media,” Krause said. “I am very proud of them for looking past the short term confusion and focusing on the long term of covering the campus and still maintaining that presence.”

As the new chief of police and director of DPS, Chad Gooch said he understands the area DPS is moving into is a shared space, and is excited to collaborate between the two organizations. 

Gooch said he welcomes anyone who wants to work with DPS, and recognizes both TMN and DPS serve the same community. He said he is looking forward to getting to know the others in the building and hopes they find DPS to be good neighbors. 

“I think that any kind of communication is important, and I would say that we foster and promote good communication from the Department of Public Safety,” Gooch said. “And so, if we have any opportunities to meet those that we’re going to share space with, we look forward to doing so.”

Vince Jones, TMN executive producer, said working in a space right next to DPS will be an adjustment. Since he now will have to walk through DPS to grab equipment, Jones said it feels strange asking for permission to enter a room TMN already owns. 

Even though Jones said he has worked in Barnett Hall for all his time in TMN, he said he is hopeful for the organization’s eventual move. He said being in a building that is farther off campus separates TMN from the rest of the University’s population, which makes it hard to recruit new members.

“If you care about student media, it’s good for [you] to know what we’re going through,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it wasn’t important, and these decisions being made will impact how we function as a community.”