Student Union campaign gets rolling
Derek Simons
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: News
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In a referendum scheduled for Nov. 12-14, students will decide if they want to pay for a new $45-50 million Student Union, to be located on the property currently occupied by the chancellor's residence at 5106 Cherry St.
At the new Student Union Planning Committee's first public meeting Aug. 30, Student Government Association (SGA) President and Student Union Advocate (SUA) Sean McClain asked the more than 50 people present to help by volunteering for the various sub-committees.
SUA Nick Clark emphasized one of the differences from the narrowly-defeated initiative he led last spring.
"This time it will be 100 percent student-led," Clark said.
The amount of the additional student fee has not been decided yet, nor when it would start, according to Clark.
"It may not be cheaper, but for the students who don't use it, it'll be a lot cheaper because hopefully it will be free or for half the cost of those that use it," McClain said. "The fee is going to be more if we don't collect until groundbreaking."
McClain and Clark both said they understand the cost was a major concern for the students in the previous campaign.
McClain said the price has gone up because of inflation and the material costs of making the building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifiable.
"There is a slight increase for LEED certification, but you can't really put a cost on our future when you're talking about sustainability and the environment," McClain said. "Most colleges are going in this direction."
SGA Administrative Vice President Emily Shaw estimated the difference at between 15 and 20 percent, but said much of it would be recovered in the long run by lower operating costs. She said the students could save $300,000 by making the building LEED certifiable, but not actually certifying it.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities Bob Simmons gave a PowerPoint presentation of how the building would be "married together" with a new hotel and convention center, and an expansion of the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration.
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