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OPINION & EDITORIAL

Save Union South

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by Letters to the Editor

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

The Wisconsin Union Directorate wishes to destroy Union South, then spend some $90 million to replace it with a slightly larger building. The existing structure would cost around $50 million to replicate on site. Throwing it away would be stupid.

Instead, let's add a new structure connected via skywalks and sidewalks on the south side of Union South and just east of Wendt Library. That would be a wise use of very expensive urban real estate. Using that patch of soil for the band to march on about seven Saturdays per year when there are home football games would be extremely expensive entertainment and thereby a very foolish use of multimillion-dollar land.

Save Union South and design an addition well so that future additions can be easily connected just in case the UW-Madison enrollment ever grows to 50,000 or 60,000 students during this century. If it ever becomes necessary to demolish the 1970s original Union South structure, then the newer additions could still be used during that reconstruction phase some 30 to 60 years from now.

Ron Renkoski Madison

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Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 11:31am):

The UW has the cash to destroy a perfectly good building and rebuild a $90 million dollar one (who cares what the reason is) and they have the audacity to call me and ask for donations? Obviously they have more than enough money to waste, they do not need mine!

Before everyone slams the state for cutting the UW budget, perhaps they should look at how the money in the current budget is spent (or should I say wasted). Perhaps the state is trying to make an out of control administration a little more responsible with YOUR money.

Brian Pierce (March 28, 2006 @ 1:44pm):

Union South is a sunk cost, no more money should be invested. We need to sell the rights to the land to someone who can invest their own money to build something there.

There is absolutely no reason that students should have to pay more in fees to help build or renovate a place with will never benefit them. Union South loses out to the numerous other things that there are to do in Madison and it always will. Lets cut our losses now and let capitalism rule - the rights to the land will be sold and something that can compete with other Madison establishments will be built there.

Check out http://badgersays.blogspot.com/ daily for political comments and debate.

Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 1:50pm):

DITTO! UW ever heard of cost-benefit analysis???

Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 2:08pm):

I wish I had the opportunity to vote FOR the MU improvements and AGAINST the Union South demolition/reconstruction.

Anonymous (March 28, 2006 @ 2:47pm):

What anonymous above misses most importantly is that the Union is not funded with state money. In fact, none of the Union budget comes from either the University or the State. The argument for a new Union South rests rather with the fact that the building has never functioned well and would cost more to maintain than destroy and start over. This is hardly unique among buildings, university or otherwise.