The new student center in the master plan is proposed to be a 65,000 square foot building. Because the proposed student center will be larger than the current one, students and faculty want to see interior improvements.
“It would be cool to see a hangout room — just like a lounge with a pool table. A place where students could just go to go there,” Michael Grosch, who will be president of SGA in the fall, said. “A community center should be like a student hangout place.”
Gunderson said he’s not sure if students will have a higher activity fee in the future. He said it depends on what students want in a new student center.
“If you (students) decide you want a bunch of new functionality added, then conceivable fees will change accordingly, but students will be involved in that decision,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson said he suspects students will want more out of their student life experience. He said he will have a conversation with students about the costs of what they want. For example, he might discuss with students how much it costs to maintain the pool.
Justin Barton, Retention Initiatives Program coordinator, works in Student Affairs, and his office is in the University Center. Along with several members of Webster Athletics, Barton’s office is a small cubicle.
“I hope I have an office with complete walls,” Barton said. “I don’t know what the architect is thinking for the inside of the building, but it would be nice to have our own undergraduate initiatives area for first year experience programs. We are kind of scattered between each other right now. Having a centralized location would be great.”
Barton would also like to see an improvement in technology in the new student center.
“Webster is really great with technology, but we don’t have any smart board systems here. I think some smart board technology would be really great.”
Though students and faculty want improvements in the new student center, Grosch would like it to keep the same qualities that define the current University Center and Webster.
“The thing about the University Center is that it’s a place where any student and every student can go to hang out,” Grosch said. “No matter what your style is, no matter what you’re like and no matter where you’re from, we have that to offer. I think the University Center should reflect that.”
Click to read about student housing in the proposed master plan.
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