2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 72
Trip Down
Memory Lane
Story: Amber Buettner
Photo: Reveille Photographer
Design: Mariah Graham
I
70
LSU Student Union Celebrates 56 years
as campus resource
t’s a place at the heart of campus most students
visit once a day, if not more. It’s where students
eat, study, hang out and possibly nap. The
Student Union is a vital place for LSU students
and has been for 56 years.
The Union was first proposed in The Daily
Reveille in 1939 but was not a proposed plan
until 1958, according to the Auxiliary Services
website.
The construction of the Union was funded
by a $1.7 million allocation from the Board of
Supervisors and $10 student fee, according to
LSU Student Union records. The building was
first made available to students on Jan. 6, 1964.
On this day in 1964, the LSU Student Union
was born! Check out our Insta stories to go
down memory lane and join us in wishing this
awesome place a very Happy 56th Birthday!
When the Union was built it was thought to be
“the University’s living room,” according to LSU
Student Union records. For many students,
including interdisciplinary studies junior Mallori
Palmisano, the Union acts as a living room still
today.
“The Union is like a safe place,” Palmisano said.
“Every- body can come here, chill and get air
conditioning and some- thing to eat. It’s in the
middle of campus, so that is a good thing about
the Union.”
“The LSU Union originally featured, among
other things, study rooms and a browsing
library, a cafeteria and snack bar, a barbershop,
separate men’s and women’s quiet rest areas,
a bowling alley, a music listening room and a
bookstore,” according to the LSU Student Union
records.
Through the years the Union has been added
on to several times and contains almost none
of the amenities it had when it first opened. The
first of many renovations began in 1987 when
the southwest corner was built, and it has had
five renovations since.
One of the costlier Union renovations began in
2006. Planning for the project began in 2001.
In 2003, the student body voted to increase
their $47 Union semester fee by $10 for the next
six semesters to help pay for the renovations,
which were estimated at $54.6 million.
The project included a “high-tech” lounge area
facing Memorial Oak Grove, office space for
student organizations, a 24-hour late-night zone,
expansion of the Tiger Lair and a new southeast
corner entrance.
Students and faculty who attended the 2006
groundbreaking ceremony were optimistic
about the Union’s future.
“Today is a day we bring our University forward
with our Union,” then-Student Government
President Chris Odinet said. “The type of Union
we’re going to build is the type to represent the
type of campus we have.”
Renovations finished in 2011, with the reopening of the Tiger Lair. At the time, the food
court included Community Coffee, Papa John’s
Pizza, Panda Express, Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina,
Jamba Juice, Chick-fil-A, Quiznos, Bayou
Bistreaux and the On-the-Geaux convenience
store.
Previously completed projects included
renovations of the Union Theater, new office
spaces and the Magnolia Room, which became
an “all-you-care-to-eat” restaurant in fall 2010
while the Tiger Lair was under construction.
Today students can enjoy many of the same
amenities at the Student Union. While the
Union has changed some of the food options it
offers, it still has plenty of choices for students
to en¬joy, such as Smoothie King, McDonald’s,
Create, Build Pizza, Einstein Bagels, Big
Squeezy Juice, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Onthe-Geaux and Community Coffee.
Some students, like mass communication
freshman Bridget Cotten, wish the Union would
expand the food options even further.