OPINION & EDITORIAL
Union Director Mark Guthier
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Monday, February 18, 2002
Each week, the Badger Herald editorial board will sit down with an individual who impacts the lives of students. This week, the editorial board spoke with Union Director Mark Guthier. Guthier replaced long-time director Ted Crabb last November. Here are excerpts from that discussion.
Badger Herald: Is it intimidating to be only the third director in Wisconsin Union history?
Mark Guthier: It gives you a sense of responsibility.
BH: What makes the job fun for you?
MG: The students. The students here are just phenomenal. They are passionate about what they do, and the breadth of the programs and events that the Wisconsin Union [offers] is just so much wider and has more variety than Indiana. The theatre is unique; Hoofers is definitely unique. We have stables and horses and sailboats, and that’s just phenomenal.
BH: What needs attention?
MG: The building has never been addressed in a comprehensive nature since it was built. The policy has been to collect money when you can and when you have enough address one room at a time. I mean, the wall coverings are from the 1970s and those types of things.
Then there are behind-the-scenes types of things—there is no central combined heating and air-conditioning system, there’s no air conditioning in the hallways, there’s no fire safety system—those types of things that take a lot of money.
BH: Is it unique for the Union to sell alcohol?
MG: I wouldn’t put it in the “rare” category, but it is uncommon.
BH: Could that ever change?
MG: I actually asked that question during my interview, and the answer was definitely no. It was more a message that we want responsible drinking, not prohibition of drinking.
BH: We had Ald. Tim Bruer, chair of the ALRC, in a few weeks ago, and he said the Union is a big drain on city resources because of the amount of police required, especially on the terrace during the summer. Do you think that is the case?
MG: From what I’ve heard from people at the Union and from police officers on beat at the Union, the opposite is true.
BH: Do you think Union South is fulfilling its potential?
MG: I think Union South needs an identity. When people talk about Union South, they always compare it to Memorial, and it is always going to pale in comparison. Some have suggested making it more of an arts place, with modern art and a museum and landscaping art outside to give it a different feel. Others talk about capitalizing on the fact that it’s a great place to be on game days, and what can we do to make it a sports place all the time.
BH: Do people like the food at the Union?
MG: I hear all kinds of things about it. When someone has a diversity of food choices people really love the Rat, but those who eat it day in and day out for the last few years might complain.
BH: Why has Lake Front been closed for so long?
MG: There were two things in play there. First, they wanted to wait until the next Union director was appointed, and that took much longer than expected. Second, the consulting group we hired did nothing, and we had to cancel their contract.
BH: What will Lake Front look like?
MG: We’re looking at a marketplace idea instead of a traditional cafeteria line. It will be more of scattered approach, with different stations serving different types of foods. We are thinking seriously of having pizza, especially to complement the brats currently available on the terrace during the summer.
BH: What do you think of the proposed Student Activity Center? Do you think it should be built?
MG: Do I wish they were staying in the Union and being a part of the Union? Yeah, of course. Do I like that the Student Activity Center will be separate from the Union? No, not necessarily, but I’m not saying it would be competition. We’ll work with the Student Activity Center.
BH: Why do you think it should be part of the Union?
MG: Well, if you got the room and you got the space and the money to do it, in my mind the best thing is that student orgs are together so that the physical locality forces interaction.
BH: Now that the Fluno Center has hotel rooms, do you think it’s possible the hotel rooms in the Union could be taken out and student org offices put in?
MG: I suppose. All the money brought in by the hotel rooms—$40,000, $60,000 or so—would have to be replaced.
BH: How many offices could you fit in the space?
MG: Well, say in Union South, you could probably fit one or two offices per room—that’s 14 or 28 offices—I’m not saying we’re going in that direction.
BH: What ideas do you have for the Union in the future?
MG: What we are doing is spending time right now talking about what we want to be for the next 25 years. Our 75th anniversary for Memorial Union comes in 2003Ð2004, and so we really want the focus of that celebration to be about what we’re going to do in the future. We really want to be a world-class facility for this world-class institution.
BH: When we come back for our 20-year reunion, will we come back and think, “Wow, look at all the changes,” or will it be a place we still recognize, and we would feel like we’re back?
MG: I would say I’m back. The Rat will be the same; Lake Front will still be the same. It will still be a great place to hang out.
