The Griffon News

The Nelle Blum Student Union has long been a premiere hangout for students looking for a place to meet with friends and a study area. But as students return to Missouri Western this fall, they’re bound to notice a big difference.

The once congested hallways and lounge area of the union, formerly teeming with students, barely resemble the area today.

Greg Nikes, the manager of the bookstore on the first floor of the union, has noticed a big change in the union.

“You can tell the difference,” Nikes said. “It’s a lot quieter…for better or worse.”

The lack of noise and congestion is the result of an extensive construction and renovation process that is currently taking place within the union.

Aspects of this plan include the construction of a student information desk on the first floor, a re-design of the school cafeteria doors and windows, the creation of a side opening to the staircase and the construction of a new office for Student Development on the second floor.

The process first sprung out in the spring of 2008 when the Administration decided to implement an overhaul on the way the space is used.

Harold C. Callaway III, president of the student government association, explained that the construction was designed in order to make better use of the union.

“What we did is try to break the union up into sections,” Callaway said. “[We’re] taking out the leisure furniture [and] putting that in the food court where it could be accessible to students; we tried to replace it with some other stuff that would make it more of a study-type atmosphere and also break it up with an informational desk.”

The purpose of the information desk is to help give students, primarily first-year students, a more direct way in which they can get help finding their way around the university and accessing information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Callaway stated that other avenues could be explored in the future.

“There [are] some other ideas that are being thrown around,” Callaway said. “We’re just working on a plan right now for that.”

Kathy Kelly, the administrative coordinator for student development, feels that this renovation will make the building more accessible and efficient not only to students and faculty but to anyone else who comes into the union.

“We would like to be able to answer all questions and not send people to several different offices to get questions answered,” Kelly said. “I believe [this process] will keep a positive environment in the union.”
Lonnie Johnson, the director of facilities for the physical plant, is overseeing the construction/renovation of the union.

He currently estimates that the downstairs construction will cost $40,000 and the upstairs construction will fall somewhere in the area of $28,000 to $30,000, making for an estimated grand total of $68,000 to $70,000.

The re-design of the school cafeteria doors and windows in the union is intended to clear the lounge area as much as possible.

Construction is currently underway in the hallway between the food court and the cafeteria, where the tile floor is being replaced with carpeting and the cafeteria doors are to be moved around the corner.
Duane Bruce, associate dean of student development, explained what is being done in those areas and why.

“The cafeteria doors are being moved from here to around the corner right down the hallway,” Bruce said. “The hallway is being carpeted. We’re doing that because we want to move the traffic from the cafeteria out of the reception. “

Bruce is also involved with the construction of a new office for student development, which started in June. Bruce feels that the current office, located at the back of the union, lacked accessibility for students.

“I didn’t feel like the…office belonged in the back of the union,” Bruce said. “I feel like it belonged in a place where students would have access to it. Obviously, visibility for this office is going to change dramatically.”

Other changes that have been made or are being made include the reconfiguration of the second floor into a study lounge, the addition of artwork in the area, more greenery in the building, and painting of the school colors in the hallways.

Bruce hopes that this new design will make the union more inviting and friendly to students and make them want to use the area that was designed for them.

The overall construction was supposed to be completed during the summer, so the students could have these new opportunities available to them in the fall.

However, Callaway explained how a few problems came up and put the project on hold.

“The project was put off for university administration issues that we had to get worked out with contracts…just typical stuff, nothing real big,” Callaway said. “They…are supposed to be done with it before the end of September. We’ll see if that comes to fruition.”

Regardless of these minor issues, the construction and renovation of Blum Union will ultimately serve the better interests of Missouri Western State University.

With a more accessible information center, student development office and more study-oriented lounge areas, these re-designs will make the union a friendly, more inviting place for students to study, be with friends and get help with student-oriented issues in a way they never could have