In the aftermath of the failed referendums about expanding the EMU and Student Recreation Center, the ASUO is deciding what to do next.
“It is clear that the project needs to be improved,” ASUO President Ben Eckstein@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Eckstein@@ said. “Students need to be at the forefront of every decision.”
There was a meeting showing new plans for the renovations last week. As of yet, the University’s Division of Student Affairs is only looking at renovating the exterior of the building in the near future.
“We have reached out to Student Affairs and now are waiting to come together,” Eckstein said.
The ASUO created a steering committee to ensure student involvement in decision-making. So far, the committee have met once. One objective is to make the project more affordable for students. A few ideas on how to do that have been proposed, but nothing has been decided.
“We need to reduce the cost or at least take the burden away from students,” ASUO Sen. Jeremy Hedlund said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Jeremy+Hedlund@@
The main objective for the ASUO is to put more decisions in the hands of students so what happened last time doesn’t happen again.
“The student union is our building,” Eckstein said. “We need to make sure we have a project students want.”
Student groups also want the EMU renovated but are concerned about the amount of space they will receive in the new building. Student groups are requesting a guarantee for the same space they have now.
“Student groups need to be represented,” Women’s Center member Nina Nolen@@http://pages.uoregon.edu/women/staff.html@@ said, “not only because we spend a lot of time there, but also because we represent students.”
She also voiced concerns about where student groups will be housed during renovations. This issue has not yet been discussed.
“We need to renovate the EMU,” Hedlund said, “if only just to bring it to code.”