UWM Union Adjusting to Covid-19

What was once an extremely busy building with students everywhere you look, now resembles a bit of a ghost town.  

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Union has always been a place where UWM students can study, do homework and get to know other students.  

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, things at the Union have changed drastically.  

According to Union Building Manager Richard Thomas, traffic throughout the Union has changed dramatically. 

Before the pandemic, Thomas said that Monday through Friday there would be between 18,000 to 20,000 people throughout the Union per day. Since the re-opening of the Union in August, there have been about 2,000 people per day during the week.  

In a building where it was often hard not to run into other people, there are now signs warning everyone to stay six feet apart.  

In mid-March of 2020, the Student Union was forced to close due to the pandemic.  

The doors of the Union were not unlocked to students and the public until the first week in August. 

According to Thomas, 95% of the staff were forced to work from home since the building was shut down.  

Although most of the staff were sent home, there were a few student custodians and building managers still working during the time of closure to maintain the Union.  

“We really value our partnership with student staff in running the building, but we didn’t have a building to run effectively,” said Thomas.  

When the Union re-opened, places inside started opening back up and a lot of the student staff were hired back.  

August Dunphy, a student custodian at the Student Union, said that some things he has noticed since the Union opened again are that things are far less chaotic than usual and that his job is a little different now.  

“What we clean has shifted a bit away from events and food areas, and more towards disinfecting,” said Dunphy. 

While the Union was closed to students and the public, it became a food pantry of sorts.  

According to Thomas, the procedure of handing out food was the same every week.  

On Tuesdays, the Union would receive a delivery of two to three pallets of food from the food bank the Union is paired with, “Feeding America.”  

On Wednesdays, the bags would be packed with food that was handed out on Thursdays.  

Thomas said that the same crews worked together in order to stop the spread of Covid-19.  

Thomas sat on the Campus Emergency Operation Center that met three times a week, working to figure out steps to take in re-opening campus and the Union.  

“We’re having to continually evaluate our safety protocols in the Union so we can make the environment as safe as possible for everyone,” said Thomas.  

According the Thomas, that was the longest period that the Union has ever been closed for.  

Not only is the Union different for the workers and students, but for the public as well.  

Food places inside the Union such as the Union station and the Flour shop are still open. The Union station is open on the inside, but the Flour shop is only open for pickup.  

A large amount of furniture has been removed from all floors of the building.  

There are hand sanitizer stations all over the building as well as only one chair per table.  

In classrooms, break rooms and elevators, there is a limit on how many people are allowed at once.  

Many computers that are next to one another are blocked off.  

Masks are required throughout the building when doing everything besides eating.  

A few student organizations have still been able to meet in the Union, if they are socially distanced.  

Dunphy said that the custodial staff is helping to stop the spread of Covid-19 by social distancing, wearing masks, cleaning and monitoring bathrooms more often and a lot of disinfecting.  

“All touchable surfaces get disinfected by the custodial staff several times a day,” said Dunphy.  

For the past month, the Student Union has hosted a Covid-19 testing center in the ballroom.  

“All in all, I would say the re-opening is going pretty well,” said Thomas.  

The hours of the Student Union have changed since it opened again.  

On weekdays, the building closes at 10 p.m. and on the weekends the building closes at 6 p.m.  

The hours of the building can be found at https://uwm.edu/union/ .