FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1950
Plans Furthered for $2-Million Union
HERE'S' AN ARTIST'S conception of the $2,060,000-"first unit"
f oot the College's .Student Union building, slated to be in construe.
lion tentatively by. December 1950. Plans will be up for final ap•.: .
pro Val of the Joint Alumni-Trustee Committee and Board of Trus
tees on 'June 10. Meanwhile,. All-College Cabinet was ,asked last
night by two members of the undergraduate SU committee to okay
a student fee brsiTining next semester, as a,"pointed boost" toward
early SU consltuction. • . • ,
Visible 'above, from the street. level -in front, are She main
flOor and scc,ond floor. Noi visible in. the drawing are the ground
floor and' ba:37.3...n.a. (Details of. SU-facilities appear elsewhere on
this'page.)
Tod: of the Union
. .
Follow progress of the 13-year "fight" for a Student Union
Building at Penn State by examining this log oi SU highlights: •
1937—Agitation began in the Collegian for a SU'building similar
to those cropping up on other campuses. Collegian staffers have been
among the - student ring -leaders in the SU 'drive, according to Mr.
George Donovan,. manager of associated student activities
_and stu-•
dent .uniOn. •
• January 1939---Eiglify-nine per cent of Penn State students
want a SU building, a cross-section survey of 800 students reve s aled.
Eighty-four per cent of all those contacted in the survey said they
would be , willing to pay a fee each semester toward a SU.
• February•l939—Dr. Robert G. Bernreuter, associate profesSor' of
OycholOgy (now a full;professor) pointed out that many coeds .are
having "pass up - the future greatsin the engineering field" because
of lack of aSU building as a social center. He said.a . SU would•bring
about more. friendly between Male and female students:
• Deceniber 1939—Collegian want-ad: "Wanted—a hundred thous 7.
and bucks from some wealthy alumnus to start the ball roiling on:
a Much-needed SU buildin g ." „ / •
•
1940••—AdamSmyser,:Collegian editor, exhorted action:, ",. . . •
• 'Can't. we 'rest just a minute, catch our breath, fill out this vast,
hollow shell we call a college with more of the real stuff 'of 'life?
..,.. Why can't the College•help the situation by providing a Student
Union. blinding? .. If not the College, what, aboUt the students
lhemselvei or the alumni?"
.MAY .1942—!'S.S. Dry Dock," campus non-profit night ' club
begun yDonovan'in the Old'Main basement, celebrated its third and
beAt.year.: Modest forerunner of the SU building as a social center,
the •.`Dry . Dock" offered an' entire evening. of fun for less than a
btick .A 50kent cover charge entitled a • couple to a' table, dancing
to.recbrdings 'and.a floor show of professional caliber. Sandwiches—
student- made—coat• a" dime. Extra "take" above expenses for the
evening was-returned to the students in the •form of doOr prizes.'
•.•,•=Maich• I946—Campus-wide student interest and drive toward
a'SU reached probably its highest pinnacle to date, led by•• Law;
.rence.Fostor, 'Collegian staffer; and .others. About .2,700 students
(Continued on page foukeen)
B I TOM MORGAN
THE. DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
SCIO Seen:
by 1...,W
! . LoOtig
Set fri'
' A ballroom abbut half tile floor
area. of Ree Hall, plus extensive
doftee, shop; 'soda, bap and dining'
room facilities,: lounges, and other
features 'will highlight the .$2,-
000.000 - "first unit" of the. Student
Union 'building.- ' .
,
According to tentative present
plans:; released. yesterday. by
Samuel K. Hostetter, assistant to
the 'president in charge of busi
ness and finence,:future additions
to the , '"first unit" Will '.be made
as funds are available.. The build
ing will'have: four floors.
FolloWing o are descriptions of
each noel , in. the "first- unit". as
outlided• in the: up-to-date plans
revised 'from tentative plans re
ported. 'last. January in = the Col-
Ba . .einent FlOor -• "
Control area for all utilities in
the building, such ak 'electricity
and heat;
' Unexcavated areas
Ground•: Floor
. .(This :floor will be • below the
street level in the front, i but will
be: level. with the ground in the
rear.) .
Kitchen; serving Several areas
on this floor; • .
(Continued on page fourteen)
ULMEI
Plans for a $2;000,000 four-floor student social and recrea
tional center to lie, erected soon on a Mid-campus site have
been approved by the College's Student Union Building
.com
mittee, S. K. Hostetter, chairman, disclosed yesterday. On the
committLe axe . faculty; administrative officers and students.
1-161. pointed out that how soon •
the building is . erected 'depends "If •the, present All-College- Cab
partly on. 'approval of present inet passes the fee for next fall,"
he declared, "it should serve to
Alumni SU plans by a Joint Trustee- virtually assure that we'll have
committee a ri•cl the a much-needed Student 'Union
and
of . Trustees on June 10, building in construction during
and partly on whether a Student the coming school year."' •
assessment can be 'started next
The fee would be used• for con
fall- to help• finance the build
ing. , . struction and maintenance of the
SU building, according to Hostet
ter. MacCalluin and Thomas Mor-
OMI
k Sit
• "Keeping 'in mind • these two gab, Cellegian ex -editor, last
provisos," he said,- "the 'outlook night asked. Cabinet—as a climax
is favorable and the SU- build- to a 13-year student
,"*.fight" for
ing Should -be 'in construction a SU building-L-to approve a, SU
during the coming;, school
l. - year." fee- and make known: that ap-
Declining.- to name : a specific prove' to.. the • Joint Alumni
site, Mr. Hostetter -said' it- is not Trustee committee in June.
definite yet, but' he indicated Financing the SU is called one
, '
that . it 'Will' be a . -location - bear of the major problems now con
the center of campus. . - • fronting the College ; since - ex
, • Need Assessment . ' tensive SU planning—directed by
-\-• Meanwhile,' James.
,MacCallum; . (Continued' on page fourteen)
chairman, 'of the undergraduate -.. •
SU, committee, - declared - yeSter-, . • . . •
day that-'the "time' is ripe for, a .
Voluntary '.strident assessment to ke-Cite s
help finance the SU. building." - - ' -
He pointed out that fees -are _
a major means- 'of SU building SUO U t K
100
finance on many campuses, and
added that Penn State students
have asked the .Trilstees twine
previously (1946 . ,and and. 1947) :for
a SU fee 'as a boost toward the
bl4lding; but action was deferred,
To Start Soon
PAGE THREE
. .
Mr. George. H. Deike; called
"one of the
of
Trustees in
the history,•of the College,' ex
pressed trust."that something defi
nite"on a. Student Union building
can be accomplished "in the very
near future," in a recent letter to
Thomas Morgan, Collegian ex
editor and student member of the
College's SU committee.
.Mr. •Deike declared, in part:
must confess that I have
I been deeply interested in this mat
ter for a period of several years,
both as a member of the Board of
Trustees and as an alumnus of the
Cellege. The need for a Student
Union building is well recognized
and I trust that something definite
can be, accomplished in the very
near 'future. . .We are all vita 4
bitereS*l ib,tbis subject."