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An EMU Emergency
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CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
■ OUR OPINION: The student union
is in criticial condition and there’s
no cure in sight
For 47 years, the Erb Memorial Union has
served as the center of student activity.
Towering over campus, the mammoth
building holds more than 50 ASUO Pro
grams, a food service, almost 20 meeting rooms
and plenty of room for students to study, work or
just hang out.
For all its dominance, however, the EMU is one
inherently screwed up building. It always has
been, and unfortunately, it always will be.
First off, let us take the case of an incoming
freshman, eager to explore the new campus before
him or her. The new student walks into the EMU,
the building he or she sees first and recognizes as
the obvious center of campus. This is where it gets
confusing.
The ASUO Executive, for instance, is on the
EMU Ground Floor, according to the building di
rectory. But what ground floor, north or south?
And why are there two ground floors? Not surpris
ingly, our freshman gets lost quickly — no matter
what location he or she was trying to find.
After original construction in 1950, the EMU en
dured two major additions in 1962 and 1972, as
well as periodic minor remodels. While adding
space, these renovations also added more mayhem
to an already chaotically designed structure.
Because of this, freshmen aren’t alone in their
struggle. With at least six different levels by name
and even more that aren’t identified, the EMU is
hard to navigate even for the most experienced stu
dent. The exact location of the Mezzanine Level,
for example, is still highly classified information,
save for the occasional campus radio employee.
1’he 1972 addition of the EMU’s northeast wing,
which includes the Skylight Cafe, Fir Room and
ASUO offices, was a major player in establishing
the separation and clutter between the floors that
plagues students today.
Because the new wing was only connected to
the original structure by a main floor skybridge,
the other levels — especially the ground floor —
essentially became two separate areas. The breeze
way, where students can walk through the middle
of the EMU while never stepping inside, separates
the two wings now.
And navigation difficulties are hardly the EMU’s
only problem. Even if one can find a way to walk
through the building without regularly stopping to
gather his or her senses, the trip surely won’t be
pretty. The EMU is a montage of different architec
tural styles and interior design that hardly molds
together.
Nicely furnished areas like the piano room near
the Fishbowl or the Ballroom and art gallery soon
pave way to the hideous orange carpet of the Sky
light and the Communist Bloc drabness of the
Ground Floor South.
There are no EMU design patterns except for the
repetition of no pattern. Besides furnishings, such
interior anomalies exist like the dentist chairs near
the Skylight Cafe or that strange cloth rainbow
structure hanging above the northeast wing. These
are things that must be noticed not just for their ob
vious novelty value, but also for their inability to
fit into any kind of design standard.
And lastly, the EMU, from the outside, is just
plain ugly. Gigantic balconies on all levels jut out,
seemingly ready for huge outdoor parties that
rarely happen. Half of the monolithic concrete
stairways never get used. And most importantly,
there’s brick — a lot of it. And it’s not pretty.
After listing all these deficiencies, it should be
noted the University also noticed the EMU’s many
faults. On Jan. 23, construction crews began a one
and-a-half year building remodel that won’t really
kick in until June.
Among changes approved by the Campus Plan
ning Committee in December are a new diverse
“marketplace” food service, more entrances (that’s
what we really need), and wider corridors. But the
most promising addition on the docket is the im
proved “Duck Crossing” — the nickname for the
main lobby hub of the EMU.
By tearing out walls and maybe adding a new
stairway, the new lobby area could go far in im
proving the vast circulation problem already de
scribed. Unfortunately, many of the proposed
changes that involve “opening up” the EMU are
part of the “alternate” plan. This means they will
only be executed if funds are available.
With questions like these, it’s hard to be excited
about the new EMU renovations. We don’t have
much confidence that the problems described in
this article will be improved sufficiently. And
frankly, it really isn’t fair to expect much improve
ment.
The EMU’s problems began when its original de
signs were approved 50 years ago. The original
building was confusing, and the ensuing changes
to its structure never adequately addressed its
many deficiencies. Instead, the remodels made the
EMU worse.
One of the goals the University (and all involved
in the project) laid out in its new renovations was
to “work carefully and thoroughly toward this im
portant step in reinforcing the EMU as the hub,
crossroads, and heart of the University of Oregon
campus and community.”
Well, the EMU, no matter how bad it is, will al
ways be the center of campus. That isn’t the issue.
The building’s sheer bulk and housing of so many
people ensures it will always be the center of at
tention.
And since tearing the whole thing down just is
n’t practical, we all must instead live with the
EMU for what it is — moments of brilliance and
comfort mixed with architectural and design in
competence, a combination that never really com
bines — and whether we like it or not, the busiest
site on campus.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board.
LETTERS
Discrimination
unacceptable
As individual members of
the Career Center staff, we
would like to express our posi
tion regarding military recruit
ment at the Career and Intern
ship Fair on Jan. 28 and 29.
It is our understanding that
under federal law, the military
has the legal right to discrimi
nate on the basis of sexual ori
entation. However, we believe
that our mission as a student
services office is to serve and
provide opportunities for all
students regardless of race, col
or, sex disability, national ori
gin and sexual orientation.
We would like for all Univer
sity of Oregon students, faculty
and staff to know that although
the military is present, we do
not condone such discrimina
tory recruiting practices. Yet, it
must also be made very clear
that our intention is not to ha
rass the recruiters.
As you can imagine, this sit
uation puts those of us who be
lieve in equal rights in a posi
tion of compromise that is not
acceptable. We encourage each
member of the campus com
munity to help create a world
where people will be hired for
the quality of their work rather
than the gender of the person
they love.
Debora Landforce
Stephanie Paramore
& 11 co-signers
Career Center
Contact k
■ BY MAIL:
P.0. Box 3159,
Eugene, OR
97403
■ BYE-MAIL:
ode@oregon.
uoregon. edu
■ IN PERSON:
Suite 300, EMU
READER VOICES
If you could,
how would you
improve the
EMU?
“I would install a
speaker system that
runs through the
whole EMU that
would play funk and
hip-hop 24 hours a
day.”
Geoff Mohr
Sophomore
Business
“I think it would be
good to have more
benches under covers
outside for people to
sit at."
Michele Snead
Senior
Biology
“They need a better
food selection, plus
the food they have is
really expensive."
Gwen Gassman
Sophomore
Biology
“I’d allocate a specific
area for games like
dodge ball to promote
student participation
and bring the student
body together."
Robert Fraley
Sophomore