UAM Students Need a Student Union

   The University of Arkansas at Monticello is a growing campus.  With a growing campus, you are going to have more students looking for a place to hang out between classes and between meals.  The University Center should be a host to a student union.

   The dorms are OK but the complaints about noise restrictions have been increasing steadily and the dorms are not exactly next to each other.  The "cafe" is a central place for everyone to be but not everyone can get in because of not having a meal plan.  

   At one point in time, there were chairs and tables in the Green Room and outside on the patio.  Now, there are no places to sit except the wall outside of the library and the few spaces in the patio area.  Students need a place to congregate during the day.  The wall outside of the library will not suffice.  In the winter, it is too cold to sit outside and in the summer it is too hot to sit outside.  A simple solution to this would be to make the University Center a student union. 

  Bring back the couches and chairs and maybe a few tables so that the students will have somewhere to sit and talk during the day.  Student unions can be very beneficial to the UAM campus.  They are very successful on other campuses.  With student unions, students will be able to have a common area on campus to go and visit.  

   This would be a great area to promote school programs, advertise different clubs and groups, host small step competitions, promote school dining, promote school athletics as well academic events and keep people out of the dorms. Having a student union will also cut down on the noise in the library, in the classroom buildings and in the patio.  The Green Room is a very good place to house the student union because it is where most students go to eat.  Even if students are not eating, they will pass through this area at some point in their day.  

   Overall, having a student union will pay off more than it will cost in the long run.  A new building does not have to be built, all we need is furnishings. The University has successfully built a wonderful clock tower and without a doubt can make a student union work.