Saturday?s letter questioning the rebuilding of Union South and renovating Memorial Union missed key facts. Memorial Union has obsolete electrical, plumbing and ventilation systems from the 1930s that are energy inefficient and environmentally unfriendly. Large sections of the building are inaccessible to wheelchairs. And with an average of more than 10,000 visitors daily, the more than 80-year-old building experiences much wear and tear. To ignore the need to renovate it would be irresponsible .These issues and old Union South?s inadequacies led to a student referendum and resulted in more than 30,000 people contributing to the new design. Research indicated that many found the old building dysfunctional and inadequate. No tax dollars were used to build Union South or will be used to renovate Memorial Union. And, as is the Wisconsin Union?s policy, students will continue to determine how both buildings operate and manage a thousand events annually.
Office of Strategic Communication