The Taggart Student Center
plays an important role in Utah State University's history.
But soon, it might be fading
into history.
Salt Lake City's MHTN
Architects is conducting feasibility studies and surveys to determine whether
Utah State has an immediate need for a new building.
Student body president
Christian Thrapp thinks it might. He took the idea of a new student center to
school officials in the summer of 2012.
And James Morales, the university's vice president of student services,
believes that idea is worth consideration.
“A feasibility study really
allows us to ask some basic questions and find some basic answers,” said
Morales, who along with USU President Stan Albrecht gave the go-ahead for the
study. “The main question we are asking right now is, ‘should we renovate the
Taggart Student Center or should we build a new student center?’”
The current TSC was built in
sections and has been remodeled several times in a 60-year period. The original
Student Union building was dedicated in 1953, with several additions added in
the years after. The name of the building was changed from the Student Union to
the Taggart Student Center in 1980.
“I felt that a new student
center would be beneficial to the student body,” Thrapp said. “The current one
is so old.”
MHTN will evaluate the need
of a new student center or decide if a renovation of the current building will
suffice. It will also determine student interest in a new building through
focus groups and questionnaires. An online survey was sent to all students. According
to Morales more than 3,000 students responded to the survey.
“I’ve been coming here with
my dad ever since I was a kid,” said Rebecca Olsen, a Utah State freshman. “The
TSC is starting to get outdated. I think we need more hangout spots and less crowding
from classrooms.”
With a new building, Morales
envisions a place where students can gather. He also imagines a student center
with two separate wings. One would house student affairs, including financial
aid and the registrar’s office, while the other would include student
activities and lounge areas. An atrium containing a food court would connect
the two wings. He would also like to see gathering rooms where the university
can host large events and small scale venues.
“We have traveled to other universities
to see their student centers and union buildings,” Thrapp said. “We wanted to
see what other schools had done with their buildings.”
Thrapp and Morales said the
university wants to continue to host events and conferences, and make a better
environment for attracting future events. After the feasibility studies are
finished in late April, Morales and Thrapp will review and choose the best
option for the university, then present a plans to Utah State President Stan
Albrecht along with the executive committee.
Under the current vision, a
new or renewed student center would be funded by the state Legislature and this
would not affect student tuition.
Bradley Thatcher, Jordan
Groff, Zach Waxler and Caesarea Kritz contributed to this article.
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