When the Union South Design Committee was in full swing last year, then-Vice President for Project Management Dan Cornelius was a strident defender of student input in the building. When this editorial board made a glib comment about the Union screwing over students with the project, Mr. Cornelius made attempts to convince us that the process was sound and there was nothing fishy going on.

Well, we finally believe him — to an extent. It’s a shame that he’s attempting to convince us of the exact opposite this time around.

As the Associated Students of Madison appointee to Union Council, Mr. Cornelius decided to make it his mission to fight for student representation and fight to keep the Design Committee open to students. The only problem? The committee had apparently finished most of its work and all that was left to be decided was the furniture.

But to Mr. Cornelius, tables and chairs were the seeds of democracy. He would make sure that students at the University of Wisconsin were assured their inalienable right to decide on upholstery color schemes. He stormed Union Council, stormed the student papers and he stormed Shared Governance.

And we all yawned.

It’s not that we don’t think students need a larger stake in the Union South project. As far as we’re concerned, we own this project. But it’s a nearly $250 million plan being paid off over the course of more than 30 years. There are construction costs to scrutinize, budget presentations to evaluate and a level of fiscal responsibility to be had. When you consider those factors, furniture is sort of a red herring, isn’t it?

We enjoy the enthusiasm, Mr. Cornelius, we really do. But maybe it should be directed somewhere more productive.