The Michigan Daily-Saturday, July 21, 1979-Page 5
Union clean-up reorganization underway
By PATRICIA HAGEN
The Michigan Union's facelift is un-
derway.
And by the time classes begin in Sep-
tember a number of physical and
philosophical changes in the huge red-
brick building's structure will be ac-
complished.
One of the biggest undertakings, con-
verting 91 hotel rooms into dormitory
space will be completed by then, and
127 graduate students and students over
21 can move in.
WHEN THE 'U'Club, a restaurant on
the first floor, reopens in September af-
ter a month-long closing, all University
students will automatically become
members for the first time, according
to Vice-President for Student Services
Henry Johnson.
For years, only the faculty, staff,
students and alumni who paid a fee had
memberships. Very few students took
advantage of the chance to be mem-
bers.
These changes are being made at the
recommendation of a 24-member task
force of faculty, alumni, students and
administrators appointed in February
to assess the operations of the 75-year-
old building at the intersection of South
University and State Streets.
A LONG-AWAITED report detailing
the recommendations of the task force
was due in April, but it has been
delayed indefinitely according to Vice-
President Johnson. He said preparation
of the Office of Student Services budget
and other matters have put off com-
pletion of the report. Assistant Vice-
President for Student Services Thomas
Easthope is now preparing a final draft
of the report.
Four subcommittees of the task force
submitted recommendations for
programming, food service and
physical aspects during winter term.
Despite the "slow" progress being
made on the report, feasibility studies
were conducted this summer and plan-
ning and renovation has begun, accor-
ding to Jeff Lebow, a member of the
task force, now serving as an intern in
the Office of Student Services (OSS),
working on Union planning.
"I've been working all summer to
make sure they don't forget it's a
'student' union," Lebow said.
IN JANUARY, the University Board
of Regents voted to transfer control of
the Union from an independent board of
governors to the OSS. This move was
applauded by students who had lobbied
to cnnvince the Regents and a-
ministration that the Union had lost its
original philosophy and function as a
student center.
In recent years students have said the
Union has not offered the social at-
mosphere or programming they
desired.
Currently, a clean-up of the building
is underway in preparation for more
substantial changes, Johnson said.
"WE'RE FINDING out what is in the
bowels of this thing (the Union)," John-
son said. Miscellanea from 75 years of
operation is being discovered, and
"we're finding things people have
forgotten had even existed," he added.
The method of selecting an
operations board composed of
representatives from student
organizations and staff is being
discussed, along with personnel
changes and the budget, Lebow said.
LEBOW SAID by fall, room usage
policies will have been established and
a general layout of office and food ser-
vice space prepared.
"We already have a fair idea of
where we want everything to go,"
Lebow said.
A new snack bar type of food service
will eventually be constructed on the
ground floor in some of the space now
occupied by the University Cellar store.
This proposed food service will be
similar to the once-popular "MUG"
(Michigan Union Grill), which occupied
the same space until the early 1970's.
Part of the University Cellar will be
moved to a location further south in the
building and the store's area will be ex-
panded by 3,000 square feet, Lebow
said.
MUCH OF the second, third and four-
th floors are taken up by administrative
offices and, Johnson said, there is a
need for more space for student groups'
activities.
"We believe there is recapturable
space.. . and we are going to do our
best to recapture the space for student
use purposes."
Johnson said the administrative of-
fices for various student organizations
may be relocated within the Union "to
get a sense of more contiguous units."
Vice-President Johnson said the next
step is to contact an architect and work
out designs for the planned physical
renovations. Initially, John w n said, the
building will not look very different
than it does now, but renovations will
continue for about two years.
"You have to do it piecemeal because
you can't interrupt the activities going
on in the building," Johnson said.
The extensive renovations are being
financed by a mandatory fee included
in tuition already approved by the
Regents, Johnson said. Each student is
charged about $2.65 per term for the
project.
Suzanne Young former director of
Student Programs, has been named ac-
ting general manager, replacing Stan
Wells.
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