With the 2008 presidential race in full swing, the numerous qualified candidates are campaigning around the clock to get their voices heard by Americans nationwide. On a smaller scale, the Associated Students of Madison is working equally hard to better the university and all it has to offer. We must applaud the members of ASM, as they are constantly putting their heads together to drum up ideas that will improve the University of Wisconsin and its student services.
Recently, the official UW student government has been banking countless man-hours working on the huge campaign, deciding what to include in the new University Square building. This space will enable students and Madisonians alike to meet, shop, run errands or just hang out. In addition to stores similar to those of the old University Square, the new structure will offer both medical and financial facilities and a common space titled the Student Activity Center (SAC). This project will offer a home to the myriad of UW organizations and the resources necessary for successful collaboration in an environment bustling with student life and activity. This will without a doubt strengthen the capabilities and potential of UW student groups and enhance the image of the university as a whole.
When I heard, during my freshman year, that the University Square complex was going to be torn down, I was both disappointed and outraged. I enjoyed all that the building had to offer: a convenient location between University Avenue and West Johnson Streets — right across from the Southeast Residence Halls — a movie theater that provided students with discounted ticket prices with the flash of a UW-Madison ID and offbeat stores with a mélange of merchandise.
Fortunately, my frustration was short-lived. The hardworking and dedicated members of ASM deserve praise for working tirelessly to create positive energy in response to the construction of a more practical and rejuvenated hot-spot for UW students and faculty to both thrive and coexist.
It is obvious that ASM has taken the needs and desires of the target demographic of University Square into consideration. According to the ASM website, the new-fangled edifice will stand next to the Steve Brown Apartments, a new high-rise housing environment that will be available after 2008. Inside the actual University Square structure, the people of Madison and the university alike will find parking for mopeds, bikes , cars, and retail shops that will resemble those of the old University Square — a post office, a flower shop, etc. Also, University Health Services will relocate to the fifth through eighth floors of the new University Square, in addition to UW financial offices setting up residency on the ninth and 10th floors. Finally, the new University Square will house Student Print, WSUM-Radio, multipurpose rooms and quiet study areas. With all of these establishments centrally located in the new University Square building, day-to-day life on our campus will run more smoothly, and this resurrected building will undoubtedly become an indispensable gear in the UW machine.
Despite the obvious benefits that the SAC and the new University Square will certainly bring to UW, there is one fly in the ointment. With more and more student organizations popping up all over campus, ASM struggles to find places for these factions to assemble, as space in this vicinity will be limited. Where will the future clubs of UW congregate? The number of quiet facilities available for group meetings will dwindle; a snowball effect is inevitable. Luckily, we must not throw our hands up in the air quite yet, as ASM requires student organizations to apply for workstations in advance. This technique will keep the number of functioning student groups to a minimum, all the while continuing to offer satisfactory cubicles for UW's hardworking student body.
Students should congratulate UW's own "politicians" at ASM. These creative and dedicated individuals are turning the dream of an improved and superior University Square into a reality.
