New student union building slated for next major construction project
by Bridgette Barron, News Editor
The current student union building (SUB) may be nearing the end of its usefulness. Over 1,000 students are on the meal plan - the most there has ever been � and increasing numbers of students enroll each year. According to George Fox University's
40-year Master Plan, which initiated the construction of the LaShana housing complex, the next significant building project will be a new student union building.
"The current SUB represents several phases of construction," said Brad Lau, vice president of Student Life. "And it is becoming increasingly inadequate for our growing student population."
Lau said the university is planning to build a new student union building within the next four to six years, depending on how much money it can bring in. The new building will be constructed on the current site of the tennis courts.
"This location will feature our beautiful canyon," said Lau. "And eventually we will build another bridge connecting the new student union building to the other side of the canyon."
George Fox students are aware of the diminishing space in the SUB, particularly while they are waiting in line for lunch after chapel. Although Bon App�tit does a good job of moving students through as quickly as possible, the lunch lines consistently stretch out the doors of the building.
"The dining hall can get pretty crowded," said Denny Lawrence, general manager of Bon App�tit. "But there are always empty seats."
Until the new student union building is constructed, Lawrence and Lau have been developing short-term strategies to maximize space, including coordinating with the registrar to stagger meal times and possibly utilizing the Bruin Den and Villa Caf� areas in the future.
Lawrence was also recently invited to listen to presentations by Dirk Barram's management classes on ways they developed
to make the Bon's service more efficient.
"There were several very good ideas," said Lawrence. "We are in the process of evaluating and implementing some of the proposals that are budget-neutral and long-term. We are not advertising the changes, but we hope the students will soon give us feedback on how we are doing."
Lawrence said the most significant space issue is actually in the kitchen. The cooks often have to share counter space, and one cook has been coming in at 4:00 a.m. to do her part of the food preparation for the day so that she has access to the space and equipment she needs. As part of the preliminary planning process for the
new student union building, Lawrence, Lau and some student representatives have visited several campuses in the area to explore current trends in student unions buildings and dining halls.
"New facilities are generally moving away from the traditional �all you can eat' cafeterias to food courts with declining point systems," said Lawrence. In the current system at George Fox, students pay for an entire meal each time they go into the Bon and can then eat whatever they want. With the declining point system, students would only pay for what they actually ate.
"This system would force students to budget their points for their personal eating habits," said Lawrence, "which would dramatically reduce waste."
Stephanie Fagerstrom, a student Team Leader for the Bon, says she sees an enormous amount of wasted food. "People come in, get a tray, and load it up with all the food they want to eat," said Fagerstom. "Then they go to their table and chat with their friends, and before you know it they have to get to class and they've barely touched their food. So they send it back to the dish room without a second thought to the full salad and hamburger they just wasted."
Lau says that the declining point system may result in slightly more costly food, but students would generally pay less for their chosen food items than they would for an entire meal. Other possible benefits of the declining point system, according to Lawrence, include:
�Freedom of choice and budgeting options
�Increased variety of food
�One common dining location for students, staff and faculty, creating a greater
overall sense of community
According to Lau, the new student union building will be a student space, providing increased flexibility and benefits to the George Fox community.
"My goal would be to get a group of students, take a road trip, and explore student union buildings on different campuses to see what works and what doesn't, what gets used, and what the students would like to see in their student union building."
Some goals for the new building at this point include better seating and lighting that looks more creative and less institutional, the possible relocation of Student Life into the new building to provide more natural interaction between Student Life and students, game rooms, a commuter lounge area, and a coffee shop. Student Life will be heavily relying on input from George Fox students in the initial planning stages of the new student union building.
"I am really excited about this project," said Lau. "I think it will add significantly to our campus."