Students will be able to give their input over the next few months about an area at the Union that will be dedicated to them when renovations begin in 2006.
The Union parking lot, which is connected to the building, will be transformed into a student plaza — an open area for students to relax.
Shirley Plakidas, Union director, said the Union will host focus groups to ensure the area is built the way students would like.
Plakidas said although the parking lot entrance is the Union’s busiest entrance, the architects drawing the plans recommended landscaping the area because an asphalt parking lot is not attractive.
Michelle Gieg, co-director of Student Government legislative affairs, also said the demolition of the parking lot is part of the Master Plan to make the internal part of campus a pedestrian area.
Gieg said Union officials also want to make the Union more open, with more entrances and glass windows.
Because the Union is not a popular hang out for students, Gieg said, the student plaza and the future Union will be a great place for students.
Plakidas said the outside area is already a natural gathering place for students.
Students are debating how the area should be designed.
Plakidas said some students want a water feature, such as a fountain, while others want tables and chairs.
Students can help decide what they want for the area, but it must fit into the money allotted from the $54 million budgeted to renovate the Union, Plakidas said.
The blueprints should be finished in the early summer.