Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephen Fogg [Click to enlarge]

The Memorial Student Center will close for three years for renovations, despite the original plan of closing the building in phases and dissent within the student body, Texas A&M President Elsa A. Murano said Tuesday.

"It makes sense to close it all, and get it done," Murano told The Battalion in an interview. She said the three main issues involving the MSC renovation project were safety, time and cost, and "no matter how we sliced it - my gosh - it made more sense to close down the building."

University administrators initially planned for the MSC to be renovated in phases, keeping some sections of the building open as others were renovated. In October, however, the administration announced the MSC would, instead, be closed completely for three years, citing the slumping economy. The projected cost for the project has decreased to $100 million from $125 million, administrators said Tuesday.

The decision to close the MSC entirely was met with the disagreement of many students, who argued A&M would be losing its "living room" and essential meeting spaces on campus. In the fall, a group of students began a petition for a referendum on the MSC renovations. The petitions passed a Student Senate vote, and the student body voted in the December referendum against the plan to close the MSC.

Jess Fields, a student senator and organizer of the petition, wrote in a guest column in The Battalion in December that the administration had not been honest with students throughout the renovation planning process. "The administration has changed the plan … from what it was last year," he wrote. "They haven't been completely honest about why, either. For these reasons, I feel that we must hold them accountable."

The vote, Murano said, caused her to reevaluate her decision. After the referendum, she asked construction planners to "take another long, hard look at the project" to see if there were any alternatives, Murano said in a memo announcing her decision that was sent to students and faculty today.

"They want the building closed as little as possible," Murano said of the student body in the interview, "and I share in that."

But Fields said Murano has not seriously considered the voices of students, and said that by proceeding with her plan, she ignored the outcome of the referendum.

"It's disconcerting," he said. "The fact is, she didn't seek any student input, or at least any serious consideration."

Though some may disagree with her decision, Murano said, it's something that has to be done.

She said a driving factor was the $60 student fee added this year. "If we're going to start assessing this fee, we better get going," she said. And by doing the renovations in one phase, the students would be getting more bang for their buck - instead of using money to block parts of the building, it can be used for renovations.

Another factor was time. With this plan, parts of the MSC will be opened to the public within 24 months, construction planners said, according to Murano. With the phases plan, portions of the MSC would be closed for up to five years.

Renovations were necessary, she said, because of asbestos in the building, problems with plumbing and meeting fire and safety standards. Those renovations provided an opportunity, she continued, to provide a "more functional" building.

Going forward with the renovations also means many moves must take place before the MSC closes its doors in mid-August. Nine University departments are based in the MSC, including Multicultural Services, Greek Life, the MSC programs office and the Department of Student Media, which publishes The Battalion and Aggieland Yearbook.

Departments and organizations located in the MSC will be told today where they are moving, administrators said.

Murano acknowledged that the renovation will be an inconvenience - for her, too, since she frequents Hullabaloo and has a view of the construction from her office window - but it's something that must be done for the sake of the University.

"It's a necessary thing," she said, "a sacrifice we have to make for the future."

Campus activities
Campus groups that schedule meetings and activities in the MSC will have to find another place. The University has launched a Web site - http://msclivingtradition.tamu.edu/ -with information on meeting places on campus, as well as updates on the planning and construction processes.

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