Posted 10:15 p.m. Monday, April 30, 2012
[caption id="attachment_11747" align="alignleft" width="448" caption="Southwest entrance to the new student center"]
[/caption]
Students were making an investment in their alma mater when they overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new student center in April, says UW-L Senior Sam Gavic.
“I think it’s fantastic that it passed with flying colors,” he says. “It goes to show how proud UW-L students are. We are willing to help pay for something students we have never met will enjoy.”
More than 2,000 students voted in the referendum April 10 with 88 percent voting in favor of building a new student center at $55 million. The alternate choice was repairing Cartwright Center for $32 million. Some parts of Cartwright Center are 50 years old and the building needs major maintenance and upgrades to remain functional.
“And — we’re smart,” says Gavic. “It makes more sense to build than to remodel a facility that is going to end up having to be rebuilt in the future anyway.”
It is expected that the project would be completed by fall 2016, but it may be completed earlier depending on approval processes. A green light is still needed from the UW System Board of Regents and the State Building Commission. It is anticipated it would take two years to build and would be constructed on the space that is currently occupied by the Wimberly parking lot (Commuter Lot 6).
No tax dollars would be used to pay for the facility. Instead, it would be paid for by student fees and program revenue — potentially from services inside the future facility, says Larry Ringgenberg, director of University Centers. A gradual increase in student fees would be implemented over the course of the next three to four years, until the building is completed and then the full fee — anticipated to be about $155 per semester, would go into effect.
[caption id="attachment_11752" align="alignleft" width="448" caption="The design of the new student center is inspired by the bluffs."]
[/caption]
When students vote in favor of projects like this they are signaling they don’t just go to school at UW-L — they are involved on campus and passionate about their life here, says Ringgenberg.
Tricia Langmeier, a UW-L junior, says she voted in favor of the project thinking about the future of her campus.
“I want to say that I went to UW-L and I want people to say, ‘Oh, that’s a great school,’” she explains. “I have younger siblings who may come to UW-L and I also would like my children to eventually come here.”
Read more facts about the building and its design, which emulates the nearby bluffs.
[/caption]
Students were making an investment in their alma mater when they overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new student center in April, says UW-L Senior Sam Gavic.
“I think it’s fantastic that it passed with flying colors,” he says. “It goes to show how proud UW-L students are. We are willing to help pay for something students we have never met will enjoy.”
More than 2,000 students voted in the referendum April 10 with 88 percent voting in favor of building a new student center at $55 million. The alternate choice was repairing Cartwright Center for $32 million. Some parts of Cartwright Center are 50 years old and the building needs major maintenance and upgrades to remain functional.
“And — we’re smart,” says Gavic. “It makes more sense to build than to remodel a facility that is going to end up having to be rebuilt in the future anyway.”
It is expected that the project would be completed by fall 2016, but it may be completed earlier depending on approval processes. A green light is still needed from the UW System Board of Regents and the State Building Commission. It is anticipated it would take two years to build and would be constructed on the space that is currently occupied by the Wimberly parking lot (Commuter Lot 6).
No tax dollars would be used to pay for the facility. Instead, it would be paid for by student fees and program revenue — potentially from services inside the future facility, says Larry Ringgenberg, director of University Centers. A gradual increase in student fees would be implemented over the course of the next three to four years, until the building is completed and then the full fee — anticipated to be about $155 per semester, would go into effect.
[caption id="attachment_11752" align="alignleft" width="448" caption="The design of the new student center is inspired by the bluffs."][/caption]
When students vote in favor of projects like this they are signaling they don’t just go to school at UW-L — they are involved on campus and passionate about their life here, says Ringgenberg.
Tricia Langmeier, a UW-L junior, says she voted in favor of the project thinking about the future of her campus.
“I want to say that I went to UW-L and I want people to say, ‘Oh, that’s a great school,’” she explains. “I have younger siblings who may come to UW-L and I also would like my children to eventually come here.”
Read more facts about the building and its design, which emulates the nearby bluffs.