In two days, some SGA members, RCC student employees, and the video team will head off for a four day road trip to visit different student unions in New England.
Why are we doing this? In hopes that our adventure will help the rest of our campus community see the immense possibilities for a new campus center. Everyone has talked, complained, and argued for a new campus center, but it has yet to be done. Students and student organizations argue that they need more space for meetings, events, and just general space to hang out and build community. But if we are truly going to get anything done and if a new student union/campus center/student center is going to be built the conversation has to SHIFT. Shift away from arguments about more space to conversations about vision.
No one is going to argue against the fact that there is not enough space on campus, but if anything is going to really get done we have to talk about other things. How will a new campus center help to foster community on campus? What are the realistic ways to go about funding a new campus center (i.e. grants from the state, a major student purpose fee referendum, small amounts of money appropriated in the budget every year until there are enough funds to build a new building, etc)? How are we going to market the idea of a new building to a critical mass of students, not just organizations and student leaders who use the building everyday?
These are all questions we hope to answer by the end of our trip this weekend. Our goal is to come back with a vision and new ideas to spread around campus to get everyone excited about the possibilities that come along with a new student union.
Follow our journey here beginning at 1pm EST on Friday. Our 15 passenger van is equipped with a 4G WiFi hotspot, so be on the lookout for more stories from the road!
How do you think a new student center will positively impact Bridgewater State University?
