Here are the answers to some of our most important questions regarding the USU straight from Dave Edwards himself...
Clean Up!
The press room, which is supposed to be the temporary location for the music listening lounge is finally getting cleaned up. The purpose is to provide an area for students to lounge and relax. Couches and chairs are going to fill up the once dusty and cluttered room, and although there won't be music playing, at least it will provide some more seating area for students.
Although the press room will serve as a temporary lounge area, the facility master plan calls for it to eventually be turned into the new interfaith center. What will become of the interfaith center? Well, it will be home to the new high-tech Music Listening Lounge that I've told you so much about.
Photo Booth in the USU, Thanks to Stride Gum!
From Tuesday, Dec. 4th - Friday, Dec. 7th, Stride gum will be hosting a photo booth on the second floor of the USU. The photo booth conatins aging technology that allows you to see what you will look like 50 years down the road when the flavor of Stride gum finally fades away.
The hours of operation are from 10am-6pm and they will be passing out free gum as well!
I'm not too excited to see what I will look like 50 years from now, but if your breath is stank you should stop by!!!
Games Center to Receive New TV!
There is talk that the USU Games Center will receive a new television for the black and white checkered area, where we currently have an old 52'inch big screen. A fixed asset request has been submitted and approved, and if things go as planned, the USU will have a sparkly new 60' inch liquid crystal display (lcd) television with surround sound by the time students return for spring semester.
According to Lindsay San Miguel, Graduate assistant of programs, "The new television will be great because it will allow for more programming in that area, such as the March Madness progam we did last year, and will hopefully draw more students into the USU."
I personally love this tv area, because you can walk past at any time of the day and catch the most random episodes of Judge Judy or A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. If you've ever wondered who controls the remote for this tv area, it's decided by student request. Any time a student has a request, the Games Center workers will take a quick vote to determine if the channel is changed or not.
According to Lindsay San Miguel, Graduate assistant of programs, "The new television will be great because it will allow for more programming in that area, such as the March Madness progam we did last year, and will hopefully draw more students into the USU."
I personally love this tv area, because you can walk past at any time of the day and catch the most random episodes of Judge Judy or A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. If you've ever wondered who controls the remote for this tv area, it's decided by student request. Any time a student has a request, the Games Center workers will take a quick vote to determine if the channel is changed or not.
It's Raining! It's Pouring! It's Leaking??
On Friday, Nov. 30th Long Beach received 35.1mm of rain, according to weather.com. As a kid, this usually meant it was the perfect time to go jumping from one mud puddle to another. However, as you grow up, slipping and falling in front of your peers becomes less and less cool.
It’s hard to notice the several unintentional leaks within the USU because of the giant intentional hole in the center courtyard. According to Vince Marin, lead building manager, there is currently no plan to fix the re-occurring leaks inside the USU.
Another issue to consider during rainy days is: slippery stairs. The staircase located in the center of the USU (where there is no roof) is made of tile, slippery when wet tile. I take these stairs with caution, but have had a couple close calls of my own. The tile staircase is never shut down; management just simply puts caution cones at the top of the stairs. It’s good to know we are sacrificing our safety by allowing rain to pour onto the tile floors of the Union so that we can have two giant trees growing out of the center of our building.
It’s hard to notice the several unintentional leaks within the USU because of the giant intentional hole in the center courtyard. According to Vince Marin, lead building manager, there is currently no plan to fix the re-occurring leaks inside the USU.
Another issue to consider during rainy days is: slippery stairs. The staircase located in the center of the USU (where there is no roof) is made of tile, slippery when wet tile. I take these stairs with caution, but have had a couple close calls of my own. The tile staircase is never shut down; management just simply puts caution cones at the top of the stairs. It’s good to know we are sacrificing our safety by allowing rain to pour onto the tile floors of the Union so that we can have two giant trees growing out of the center of our building.
Let's Talk About Rec!!!
Remember that horrible slogan that seemed to be everywhere on campus last semester??? Well, if not, here's a little refresher and an update on the $70 million Student Recreation & Wellness Center…
On Feb. 27th & 28th there was a campus wide vote in which a mere 2,921 students voted to determine the fate of this facility. According to Michelle Silva, Chair of the USU BOT, 74.7% of those that voted were in favor to build a Student Recreation & Wellness center on campus (despite tuition increase for future generations). The USU has contracted with the Los Angeles-based architecture firm, Cannon Design, to design a center that our students want and to make it unique to our campus. The building design should be available by the end the Fall 07 semester and construction is expected to begin around July 2009.
If you’re curious what the rec center has to do with the USU, then you should know the rec center is basically a part of the union: it will be run by the USU and overseen by the USU BOT.
Rec Center = higher tuition ($110 per semester once the center opens) and less parking. Good thing I won’t be around for it!
USU Master Plan! Bwahahahaha!
The USU Facility Master Plan aka the 10-year plan. What exactly is this plan? How far along are we?
In Spring 2005, the USU Board of Trustees passed the USU Facility Master Plan to ensure that the USU continues to provide adequate space, suitably located programs and services, technology and equipment to support our growing student population. This process alone took over a year to create with student and tenant feedback, including surveys and focus groups.
According to Dave Edwards, the USU Director, The USU is currently in the third year of this 10-year plan and here’s the goal: The 1st floor will have a games theme, featuring entertainment, recreation, and programming. “It will be similar to a Gameworks,” said Edwards. This floor will also feature the new and improved Music Listening Lounge, which will have a computer café and music downloading capabilities. The 2nd floor will house student services and programs, as well as our food and commercial vendors. This includes additions such as Sbarro’s Pizza and a Wells Fargo, which Edwards hopes will be open by Spring 2008. The 3rd floor will be the leadership floor with ASI administration, student government, and conference rooms. You know, the boring stuff students don’t really know and/or care about.
Well … can’t wait to see all this 7 years from now.. oh wait, I won’t be here!
In Spring 2005, the USU Board of Trustees passed the USU Facility Master Plan to ensure that the USU continues to provide adequate space, suitably located programs and services, technology and equipment to support our growing student population. This process alone took over a year to create with student and tenant feedback, including surveys and focus groups.
According to Dave Edwards, the USU Director, The USU is currently in the third year of this 10-year plan and here’s the goal: The 1st floor will have a games theme, featuring entertainment, recreation, and programming. “It will be similar to a Gameworks,” said Edwards. This floor will also feature the new and improved Music Listening Lounge, which will have a computer café and music downloading capabilities. The 2nd floor will house student services and programs, as well as our food and commercial vendors. This includes additions such as Sbarro’s Pizza and a Wells Fargo, which Edwards hopes will be open by Spring 2008. The 3rd floor will be the leadership floor with ASI administration, student government, and conference rooms. You know, the boring stuff students don’t really know and/or care about.
Well … can’t wait to see all this 7 years from now.. oh wait, I won’t be here!
Temporary Location My Butt...
Music Listening Lounge, where are you?! According to the official USU website the music listening lounge has been temporarily relocated to USU room 100. I was curious how the temporary location looked, so I got off my bum and headed to the room. What I found was an abandoned coffee shop, known as the press room. It was dark, locked, and obviously not the temporary location of the music listening lounge.
I gained access inside the “temporary location” and found all the remnants of the music listening lounge just piled in a corner. Classic posters, old stereo equipment, and run-down beanbags covered in dust.
According to Carlos Maruri, USU building manager, there is a possibility of a “high-tech, state-of-the-art, music listening lounge,” within the next ten years. But as of now, there is no intention to have a temporary location.
So what’s with the false information on the website? I wonder how many people go searching for USU room 100 and just find a closet of old stuff?
Alright, I promised some information regarding the disappearance of the Round Table Pizza and here it is: Every commercial vendor inside the USU signs a five-year contract. Once this contract is up, it is up to the USU “bosses” to determine whether or not they can re-sign a contract. According to Vince Marin, lead building manager, the contract with Round Table Pizza was not renewed because “Round Table could not meet its financial obligation to the USU.”
No Tanning Salon for the USU!
The tanning booth rumor can now be put to rest. According to Tristan Wynn, representative at large for USU Board of Trustees, the tanning salon that was in negotiations with the Board of Trustees recently decided against opening a salon in the Union claiming "there wasn't enough electricity in the facility."
It's a shame, I was looking forward to staying tan all year long.
In other news, there is new signage all over the USU giving it a new, vibrant feel. New room numbers and fresh paint added to exterior signs are just some of the new additions for easier navigation throughout the USU. Also, starting Spring semster, USU tours will be offered to new and returning students in order to increase their knowledge of different programs that are offered within the USU. Tours will be led by BOT members and student government leaders once a week.
Oh yeah, and the ascending escalator on the West Patio is broken again! So if you're lazy like myself, head for the elevator inside the USU!
Something's Missing....
My first blog entry, how exciting…One of the first things I noticed when returning back to the Beach this lovely fall semester was the fact that both the Music Listening Lounge and Round Table Pizza were missing from the University Student Union. This makes me sad and I plan to get to the bottom of it.
According to Richard Haller, ASI’s executive director, the Music Listening Lounge is going to be moved into the 1st floor of the Student Union, and they are currently looking for a temporary place to relocate the lounge. They are compensating for the missing lounge area by placing more furniture around the Student Union.
A tanning booth in the USU? It is a possibility now that the Board of Trustees has made this an option open for discussion. Nothing has been committed and contracts have not been signed, but if students are interested in expressing their opinion about a tanning booth in the USU then they are being encouraged to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, Oct. 5th at 1pm in the Senate Chambers, which is located on the 2nd floor of the USU.
A tanning booth? Hmm… Share your opinion by taking my poll -->
More on the disappearance of Round Table Pizza next week....
According to Richard Haller, ASI’s executive director, the Music Listening Lounge is going to be moved into the 1st floor of the Student Union, and they are currently looking for a temporary place to relocate the lounge. They are compensating for the missing lounge area by placing more furniture around the Student Union.
A tanning booth in the USU? It is a possibility now that the Board of Trustees has made this an option open for discussion. Nothing has been committed and contracts have not been signed, but if students are interested in expressing their opinion about a tanning booth in the USU then they are being encouraged to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, Oct. 5th at 1pm in the Senate Chambers, which is located on the 2nd floor of the USU.
A tanning booth? Hmm… Share your opinion by taking my poll -->
More on the disappearance of Round Table Pizza next week....
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