Phase I Complete; Student Union Addition Open for Use

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With the snip of a pair of giant scissors over a Carolina blue ribbon, officials declared the new addition to the Frank Porter Graham Student Union formally open to the public Monday.

Union Director Don Luse, Chancellor James Moeser, Carolina Union Activities Board President Charles Phaneuf and Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dean Bresciani addressed a crowd of nearly 100 students, faculty members and staff members.

The addition originally was scheduled to open June 13, 2001, but it was delayed eight times due to problems with the contractors.

Phaneuf said that students were disappointed with the delays but that they did their best with the resources that were available to them. He said the addition will allow CUAB to serve the students better and that the Union was designed with the help of student focus groups to make it as student-oriented as possible.

Luse called the building a symbol of the Union's rich history and promising future.

Moeser said the ribbon cutting was the culmination of an exciting day at UNC, including the opening of the Undergraduate Library and the contested summer reading discussion sections.

"I've never been more proud than I am today," he said.

Moeser quoted a speech given by Frank Porter Graham at the opening of the Student Union in 1968 in which Graham encouraged students to use the meeting space to play but also to fight problems such as war, poverty, discrimination and personal and moral degradation.

Bresciani said the culture of student life at UNC is unique among higher education.

"And what could be a more fitting symbol of student life?" he asked, indicating the new Union addition.

The addition -- which includes a computer lab and copy center -- will be open 24 hours a day.

After the plagued Phase I delays, officials evaluated the performance of the contractors and decided it would be best to repackage the remaining work and bid it out to new contractors, said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for planning and construction.

Runberg said Phases II and III -- the renovation of the old Union -- will be packaged as one 10-month project rather than two six-month stages.

Preliminary work on the phases is expected to begin after the semester ends in December, and actual construction will begin in January. Luse said that the new Union addition passed all state inspections and that people began moving in last month. There is still some final touches to be done, including hanging some signs, he said.

Though parts of the Union are still being finished, most of the building is fully functional.

Union officials are still working to wire a meeting room in the basement to the campus network so Student Congress meetings can be broadcast on Student Television.

Luse said he will be working with student government officials in the upcoming weeks to determine what equipment needs to be purchased.

The orange construction fence that surrounded the building during construction is down, and bus service resumed last Friday. Signs indicating the new bus stops in front of the Union will be installed soon, Luse said.

There is a person staffing the information desk, and meeting space is already reserved. The copy center is up and running as well.

Student Body Vice President Aaron Hiller said student government's transition from Suite C of the old Union into the new offices went smoothly.

Hiller also said he thinks it is beneficial for the University to have a new Union that is functional because it is one of the public faces of the University.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.