New Student Center set for operation in 2017

Bree Levine, Copy Editor

Built in 1959, the Cartwright Center has been the Student Union on campus, hosting everything from club meetings to large events, such as Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to UW-L in 2012. It has also become a place to eat, socialize and study. Now, this is all about to change.

Because the Cartwright Center has not been renovated in quite some time, it became apparent that something had to be done to update the Student Union. As older students remember, a referendum was sent out in the spring semester of 2012, asking students to vote whether they wanted to renovate the Cartwright Center or build a new Student Center entirely. Students voted for the latter.

The new building, set to break ground in October, is expected to be fully operational by the fall semester of 2017. The new Student Center will provide more space for student organizations, dining services and recreational spaces, according to Student Association President Kaylee Otterbacher.

Chancellor Joe Gow is excited about the new Student Center, “[The University is] delighted [that] students would like to see a new facility, and we’ve actively involved them in the design of the building.”

“The new Student Center was designed and modeled after Grandad’s Bluff, […] so in that sense, I think it will bring a new dynamic of La Crosse pride to campus,” Otterbacher said.

Gow isn’t the only one enthusiastic about the new student center being built. Get out the Vote Director and former Student Association President Nick Bezier said everyone working on the project had a positive reaction to the referendum.

“The administration, at the time, had invested a lot of time and energy into the project [prior to the referendum], so they were certainly happy,” Bezier explained. “I think they wanted to build their legacy. Student Centers are, and should, be the focal point of every campus, and so for those that were involved, playing a part in that was very exciting.”

The Student Center will be funded by student fees, called “Seg Fees,” that are allocated by the Segregated University Fee Allocation Committee (SUFAC), according to Otterbacher. The building will cost each student about $155 per semester for 30 years. While renovations to Cartwright would have cost less than that, approximately $125 per student per semester for 20 years, it was unsure how long those renovations would have lasted until the building needed updates again. The new building assures that no additional costs will be needed for upkeep for years to come.