For some students, the Union is simply a building they pass daily but do not visit often. For others, it is only a place to loiter between classes. Still other students use the Union as a place to eat, study, nap and work every day.
On Wednesday, April 2, students will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to increase the current Union fee to expand and renovate the Union.
Proposed Fee Increase
WTW Architects, a firm that visited the University several times in 2001, proposed a $54.6 million plan to assess the students’ and Union’s needs.
The proposed Union fee increase will allow the Union to renovate the existing 150,000 square feet of the building and add about 57,600 square feet to accommodate students’ needs, Union Director Shirley Plakidas said.
If students approve the fee increase, the University will add $10 per spring and fall semester to the current $47 Union fee for the next six semesters.
The referendum also proposes an increase of $9 per summer semester.
The spring and fall semester fee increase will be capped at $107, a figure that includes the existing fee, in spring 2006.
The summer semester fee will be capped at $35.75, including the current fee of $8.75, in summer 2006.
TOPS will continue to cover the current $47 Union fee, despite any increase. However, TOPS will not cover the increased amount, Plakidas said.
Student fees currently generate about 60 percent of the Union’s annual operating budget and self-generated revenue from sales and services; leased operations and commissions from retail space cover the remaining 40 percent.
A need for renovation
The Union opened for the first time in 1964, four years after the students self-assessed a fee to provide the building funds.
Plakidas said the University only had 13,000 students enrolled when the Union was built, and enrollment is now around 30,000. The building needs to be expanded and renovated to accommodate the continuously rising number of students, she said.
The almost 40-year-old Union is showing its age, said Union Associate Director Ken Bueche. The building shows signs of a lack of disability access, water damage, equipment problems and poor use of space.
Although most students do not notice them, the Union currently is facing problems every day with outdated equipment, Bueche said.
Air handlers, which control the air conditioning and heating for the entire building, are rusted and damaged. Bueche said 19 out of the 31 air handlers are original to the building and in great need of replacement. These handlers cost from $60,000 to $100,000 each.
Recently installed automatic doors and enlarged bathrooms have improved the disability access, but the Union is still in need of one, if not several, new elevators.
Bueche said there is only one elevator, which is used both for disability access and freight, and it is original to the building. The elevator currently runs off a fan placed in a first-floor hallway because its outdated parts no longer can be purchased.
The roof has leaked in several different places and caused water damage on the ceilings of the Union Theatre, Ballroom, several meeting rooms and other areas.
Concerns
Although many members of the University community are supporting the fee increase, some students are skeptical about the need for a fee increase.
The opposition ranges from concerns about the building meeting University design policies to students not wanting to pay an extra fee.
Some University community members have expressed concerns about the Union’s current lack of compliance with the University’s architectural design policies.
Ralph Portier, chairman of the Facility Design and Development Committee, said the Union has not yet approached the committee with its plans, but it does not have to until official plans are made.
Portier said the plans will have to be approved by the committee before construction begins to ensure the plans comply with the Master Plan and the design and style comply with the University’s policies.
Bueche said the Union administrators will go in front of the FDDC after an official architectural plan is made to make sure the renovation and expansion complies with University policy and the Master Plan.
Brandon Lay, Union Program Council Ideas and Issues Committee chairperson and one of the student senators who proposed the fee increase bill to the senate, said the increase is definitely worth students’ money.
The Union administration is adamant about keeping the Union as a building for the students and built by the students, Lay said. If the money does not come from student fees, it likely will come from increased prices the students will have to pay at the Union’s retail venues, he said.
Amanda Sadat, UPC president, said the renovations are not simply to fulfill wants but to address the building’s needs.
Sadat and Lay said students who are wondering why a renovation of the Union should be a priority when academic buildings are in need of repair should know the Union gives 3 percent of its annual revenue to the University’s general fund for the University to put toward academics.
Support of the Union will support the entire campus, Lay said.
What is next?
If the fee increase is approved, the Union will take bids for an architect to make the official plans for the renovation and expansion, Plakidas said.
WTW Architects, a Pittsburgh, Pa., firm, has visited the campus four times and made a list of recommendations after speaking to students and examining the building. Official plans will not be set until the funds are made available.
The initial recommendations from WTW included the addition of a new 24-hour zone to provide students with an area of the Union that can be accessed at all hours while the rest of the building is closed off.
The 24-hour zone will include an update of the Tiger Pause game area, a large computer lab, a new student lounge and an area to house several student organizations.
Money from the increase also will go to the creation of a new main entrance on the Union’s southeastern side, near Highland Road and the Memorial Oak Grove.
Bueche said the new entrance will benefit students who live on campus and commuters who park in the Agricultural Center lot.
Plakidas and Bueche said while the increase will add to the amount of fees students pay, it also will provide them with a legacy to leave future students and to show to their children one day.
If the student body approves the referendum, the fee increase will go into effect in fall 2003. Plakidas anticipates the contractors will complete the project in spring 2008 if students approve the fee increase.