Less Free Parking, Other Changes Due to New UWM Student Union Plan

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The new UWM Student Union project is going to alter how students’ segregated fees are distributed this fall.  And it means the end of some free parking on campus.

In 2012, a referendum to increase segregated fees in order to fund a new union was approved by 72 percent of students. The fee increase was scheduled to begin with the fall 2015 semester. However, according to Student Association (SA) Senator Maya McCarthy-Neal, the UW Board of Regents advised the SA they would not approve a fee increase greater than 3 percent.

The pre-design concept for the new UWM Student Union calls for a more modern aesthetic that allows in more natural sunlight. Image obtained by Sarah DeGeorge.
The pre-design concept for the new UWM Student Union calls for a more modern aesthetic that allows in more natural sunlight. Image obtained by Sarah DeGeorge.

As a result, the Senate Finance Committee had to get creative with segregated fee distribution for 2015-16 in order to start the capital fund for a new union.

The union project needs approval from the Board of Regents. There’s no concrete target date for building it at this point. The original section of the Union was finished in 1956. Additions were completed in 1963, 1972, and 1988.

Full-time students paid $649.86 in segregated fees per semester in 2014-15.  Segregated fees, in contrast, are fees charged to students by the university that are separate rom tuition dollars. They fund a variety of auxiliary services.

“There were actually a lot of voluntary concessions,” said McCarthy-Neal. “The athletic department let us take $10 per student from their capital fund to put towards the new union capital fund.”

The current UWM Student Union is criticized for its concrete, fortress-like structure. Photo by Sarah DeGeorge.
The current UWM Student Union is criticized for its concrete, fortress-like structure. Photo by Sarah DeGeorge.

The Office of Student Life divisions also showed flexibility in their budgets in order to make room for the new union capital fund.

But while these cuts won’t be noticeable to students next year, the cuts to Parking and Transit will. That is where half of $30 per student being moved to the capital fund is coming from. To make that possible, parking in the Northwest Quadrant will no longer be free to students beginning in fall.

According to McCarthy-Neal, cutting subsidized parking in order to fund a new union was the best choice.

“Paying as much as we do as students for only 700 parking spots is insane,” said McCarthy-Neal. “It doesn’t make sense to keep paying for something so unsustainable.”

Despite the financial challenges, the SA is determined to get the new union project moving forward.

“A new union is vital to UW-Milwaukee,” said SA President Ryan Sorenson. “We have over 20,000 people walk through this building a day – it is the central hub for students.”

The UWM Student Union see traffic of approximately 20,000 people per day, according to SA President Ryan Sorenson. Photo by Sarah DeGeorge.
The UWM Student Union see traffic of approximately 20,000 people per day, according to SA President Ryan Sorenson. Photo by Sarah DeGeorge.

Sorenson cited flooding throughout the Union during a rain storm recently as evidence for the need to act now.

“Seg fees are going to go up for the Union no matter what,” he said. ”Either you are going to pay for the increased maintenance and not see anything out of it or you are going to pay for a brand new union and get a better experience out of it.”

Despite the need for an updated union, the SA recognizes it’s a difficult proposition to sell when academic staff and faculty are being offered contract buyouts.

“When we say ‘let’s build a new union’ people respond with, ‘wait, we’re facing cuts,” said McCarthy-Neal. “But these cuts are being assessed to GPR funding and not seg fees – that distinction is important.”

GPR stands for general purpose revenue, which is the funding for the UW System provided by the state through tax collections. Together with tuition and other revenue sources, GPR goes toward the general operating budget. The budget for auxiliary services – such as athletics, parking and transit, student health services and student life offices – is kept separate from the general operating budget. These auxiliary services are funded through student segregated fees. Therefore, the cuts to the UW System in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget do not affect the budget for auxiliary services, which the Union falls under.

The project is currently in the pre-design phase. With the establishment of the capital fund, the project will be able to move forward by commissioning an architectural design. If the Board of Regents approves the project, the current building would likely be demolished and rebuilt in sections to minimize the impact on current students.

Both McCarthy-Neal and Sorenson expressed confidence that the project would be able to get approval.

“It’s good for our campus, it’s necessary considering all the repairs that need to be done and we were able to make room for it in our budget,” said McCarthy-Neal said.