The Student Union building was officially opened on January 23, 2017. Everything that exists in the Union now once existed in a different building that some may not know much about. The old building is called Cartwright and many might be wondering what’s going on there nowadays.

Cartwright used to be known as UWL’s student union before The U was opened just last semester. One of the main features of Cartwright that many know the building for was the dining service called The Cellar. 

Located in the basement of the building, The Cellar provided a space for students to eat food and enjoy some entertainment on different nights throughout the week. It was considered a hangout spot and even a potential date location.

Now that the building’s insides have been moved to a different location, many might be thinking it’s an empty shell now. However, that is not the case. According to Executive Director of Facilities Doug Pearson, “The building currently houses ROTC, a Wrestling practice facility, offices for academic staff in the College of Science and Health, and will house a Gymnastics practice facility after a renovation this winter.”

There is some activity going on inside of Cartwright, though that won’t be the case for long. Right now, Cartwright serves as a hosting building for other buildings that are being, or will be, renovated.

“Cartwright will remain in use until after completion of Cowley Phase II,” Pearson says. “The academic staff for the College of Science and Health, currently housed in old Cowley, will need temporary offices while old Cowley is torn down and replaced with Cowley Phase II.”

The timeline for Cartwright’s demise is unknown, according to Pearson, and requires Cowley Phase II to be enumerated in the future State Budget. In regard to future plans for Cartwright, Pearson says, “The Campus Master Plan indicated Cartwright is eventually to be torn down, and East Avenue will connect to State Street.”

Pearson has been working at UWL since February of 2014; the relationship he has with Cartwright is only related to maintenance issues. However, there are plenty of memories made by many UWL students who still visit/reside on campus. According to a Campus News article (https://news.uwlax.edu/remembering-cartwright/) titled “Remembering Cartwright,” more than 150 memories related to the building’s basement eating and entertainment space – The Cellar – were shared on UWL’s Facebook page in mid-December.

I’ve only been a student here at UWL for roughly three years and a portion of my freshmen year was spent in the Cellar. Even with just those few memories, I can say that I will miss the building once it goes. 

Despite the loss of Cartwright and the memorial of where people had fun and met new friends, the new Student Union will carry on that tradition and become the space for incoming students to make similar memories as well as meet new friends. It’ll almost be like Cartwright never left, but rather moved into a nicer looking shell.