More communal space, larger outdoor areas and improved building administration were just some of the suggestions raised Monday night at a meeting to study upcoming renovations to student social space.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and Dean of University Life Sue Coon organized the working group, the successor of many similar committees that for several years have studied space changes. Moneta has made renovating the West Union Building, the Bryan Center and surrounding buildings one of his top priorities for next year and said he hopes the group will jump-start discussion on what current student space lacks.
"We want this to be an open discussion. What would we put in a student union if we were to build it on a flat piece of land?" Moneta said.
Donald Luse, director of the newly renovated Carolina Union at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, moderated the discussion. About 20 graduate and professional students, undergraduates and administrators attended. They represented a wide range of campus constituencies, including Duke Student Government, greek organizations, Campus Council, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, the Duke University Union and the Office of Student Development.
"When I close my eyes and think about Duke, I want to see this building," Luse said. "This building needs to stand for what Duke is. It needs to be a place alumni go back to as a place they remember."
Monday's discussion served as more of a brainstorming session than an actual planning event, participants said.
No official resolution came of the meeting, but discussion focused on building a community center that further integrates social space, dining facilities, student services, offices and more areas for various programming initiatives.
The Bryan Center, West Union and other buildings have long been criticized by students and administrators for their inefficient use of space.
"It's kind of cool to get together and think what fantastic things we [could] have in a building like this," Brady Beecham, outgoing Union president, said afterward.
"Eventually there are limits and decisions that need to be made, but for now, this was just a brainstorming session."
Moneta and other planners said they hope to continue gathering input through the summer and fall before beginning concrete planning some time next year.
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