Proposal looks into new options for MU
An idea by four campus individuals has secured interest by the MU Board
Lauren Dillard
Issue date: 11/30/06 Section: News
The MU Board of Directions gave ASOSU President Michael Olson, Memorial Union President Jaimee Colbert, Dean of Students Jackie Balzer and MU Director Michael Henthorne a thumbs-up in a meeting to measure interest in an MU-connected building.
This building will house current student involvement programs, including ASOSU.
"The important thing at this point is to move forward with a solution," Olson said.
The problem is that current housing for ASOSU, student media and other programs is breaking down. The buildings - interconnected Snell Hall and the MU East - that were built nearly fifty years ago were not built well enough to last, according to a Barometer report printed in 2003.
"I think we need to ask students to invest in the future," Olson said.
The proposal is a two phase project that would look at the expansion of the MU into a building that would rest on the location of the bookstore parking lot - with an idea for below ground parking under the building.
"This is the only one that would essentially allow us to all be together in one complex," Henthorne said. By 'being all together,' Henthorne means that MUPC and ASOSU - both departments of student government - would be connected by a sky bridge that would span the distance between the MU and the new building. An idea is in the works for a bridge that would also connect the library to the building.
"We still continue to live in a bifurcated system," Henthorne said regarding the 'two-houses' of government that OSU currently has.
One problem, unlike the government in the state of Oregon, the comparable house and senate are not in the same building across the hall from one another.
Improvements and upgrades would also be made to the MU to bring it up to code for safety standards.
"We are advocating for the future of the student experience," Olson said.
The cost of the building has not yet been determined. The MU Board of Directors approval gave the MU Expansion proposers the ability to ask students what they would want and how they would want to pay for a new building.
"This is really just a way for us to get some ideas on the table to start working with because the clock is ticking and MU East is failing," Henthorne said.
For more information about the future of Snell Hall and funding for the MU Expansion project read Friday's article, under the heading MU Expansion.
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This building will house current student involvement programs, including ASOSU.
"The important thing at this point is to move forward with a solution," Olson said.
The problem is that current housing for ASOSU, student media and other programs is breaking down. The buildings - interconnected Snell Hall and the MU East - that were built nearly fifty years ago were not built well enough to last, according to a Barometer report printed in 2003.
"I think we need to ask students to invest in the future," Olson said.
The proposal is a two phase project that would look at the expansion of the MU into a building that would rest on the location of the bookstore parking lot - with an idea for below ground parking under the building.
"This is the only one that would essentially allow us to all be together in one complex," Henthorne said. By 'being all together,' Henthorne means that MUPC and ASOSU - both departments of student government - would be connected by a sky bridge that would span the distance between the MU and the new building. An idea is in the works for a bridge that would also connect the library to the building.
"We still continue to live in a bifurcated system," Henthorne said regarding the 'two-houses' of government that OSU currently has.
One problem, unlike the government in the state of Oregon, the comparable house and senate are not in the same building across the hall from one another.
Improvements and upgrades would also be made to the MU to bring it up to code for safety standards.
"We are advocating for the future of the student experience," Olson said.
The cost of the building has not yet been determined. The MU Board of Directors approval gave the MU Expansion proposers the ability to ask students what they would want and how they would want to pay for a new building.
"This is really just a way for us to get some ideas on the table to start working with because the clock is ticking and MU East is failing," Henthorne said.
For more information about the future of Snell Hall and funding for the MU Expansion project read Friday's article, under the heading MU Expansion.
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