Before the school week ends, students at the University of Texas at El Paso will decide if they want to increase their student fees by 400% to pay for the reconstruction of Union West, parts of which date back to 1949, as well as the refurbishment of parts of Union East.
The proposal is part of the 2024 UTEP Master Plan, though university officials did not provide cost estimates or a timeline to tear down and rebuild Union West or renovate Union East if the referendum passes.
And while some historians have expressed concern over the demolition of what they call a historically and culturally significant building, university leaders said Union West is in poor shape and that it would be more cost effective to rebuild it.
Electronic voting via UTEP’s MineTracker system started at midnight Monday, Sept. 16, and will continue through the end of day Thursday, Sept. 19.
Students currently pay $30 per semester for a Student Union Fee that is used to finance the construction, operation and maintenance of the union buildings and its programs. The fee will increase incrementally for the next three academic years if the proposal passes – $70 in fall 2025, $120 in fall 2026 and $150 in fall 2027, according to the UTEP Student Union Referendum website. Students who enroll in summer sessions would pay half that amount.
Students want a more modern facility that would include collaborative spaces, areas with table top activities such as pool and pingpong, and esports and PC gaming, new dining venues with nutritious choices, space for small gatherings, a large ball room and a shaded outdoor plaza, the referendum website states, citing information gathered at town hall meetings and focus groups.
“This is going to have a big impact on students,” UTEP Student Government Association President Edgar Loya said. “We want as many students as possible to vote.”
Despite the continuing efforts to inform students about this election from sandwich boards to social media, and tabling around campus to pop-ups at Union West, it is difficult to say how many of the more than 25,000 students are aware of the referendum.
Loya said that he expects about 20% or less of the students to cast a ballot. Of the students he has spoken with, those in student organizations are enthusiastic. Many are curious how they will be affected. He said students who pay tuition and fees out of pocket often are more hesitant.
The university has informed students that those who receive financial aid could have their fees covered by grants, loans, scholarships or through a work-study program. According to CollegeSimply, as of last February, the median household income of a UTEP student was $46,777, which meant that 68% were considered low-income families.
Signs around UTEP’s campus urge students to vote in favor of a fee increase for Union renovations, Sept. 12, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The inclusion of the financial aid was “impressive and thoughtful,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a national scholar-activist whose research focuses on college student support to include affordability.
While concerned about how the union fee increase could affect low-income students, she said that one must consider the context. The university had not increased its union fee in 36 years. The amount was much lower than most schools, and as an underfunded public institution, there are not many alternatives. When inflation is taken into account, $30 in 1988 is equal to about $80 today.
However, Goldrick-Rab reviewed the referendum website and thought the amenities scope was outdated and exclusive. She would prefer to see more support for students who commute to school, especially from Ciudad Juárez. She added that a union should be a place where students can find answers to basic needs.
“Right now, it sounds like the food and entertainment may be expensive and skewed towards students with money,” Goldrick-Rab said.
Freshmen Sebastian Palacios and Victoria Lozano represented both sides.
Palacios, a mechanical engineering major, said he planned to vote no because of his family’s financial situation, and because he was not sure how much he would use the building.
Lozano, a finance major, said she would like to learn more about the issue, but is leaning for the referendum. She likes to play pool and esports, and agreed that students need more places to be with friends. Her initial campus experiences include full or closed computer labs, and confined study spaces.
UTEP freshmen Victoria Lozano, left, and Sebastian Palacios planned to vote in this week’s referendum to increase the student union fee to pay for the demolition and rebuilding of Union West and upgrades to Union East. (Daniel Perez/El Paso Matters)
Is the Student Union historically significant? Some say yes
On top of the financial issue, some historians are concerned about the demolition of Union West, and the referendum as a whole.
PJ Vierra, a member of the UTEP Heritage Commission and a former speechwriter for presidents Wilson and the late Diana Natalicio, created a website to alert others to his historical concerns. He, along with Max Grossman, associate professor of art history, hope to schedule a meeting with members of the President’s Office next month. Grossman was an instrumental figure in derailing the city of El Paso’s plan to build a multipurpose arena in the Duranguito neighborhood south of Downtown.
Vierra, who served as a historian in UTEP’s Centennial Office, conducted a lot of original research on the campus’ core heritage sites. He said he was worried that this could be a first step in the demolition of the campus’ other historically and culturally significant buildings.
Union West is the home of the UTEP Dinner Theatre, Sept. 12, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
He said the initial wing of Union West from the ’40s was “over-engineered,” which would allow its exterior to remain intact as its interior was renovated. He said that the wing has “architectural, historical and cultural significance worthy of preservation.” He admitted that the building needs work, but blamed years of deferred maintenance that “brought it to the verge of demolition by neglect.”
Vierra also hinted that if the referendum were to pass, plans could be delayed for several years due to legal objections to the project.
“Local advocacy groups are just getting organized to oppose the razing of a UTEP core heritage site,” he wrote on his website.
Marco Hinojosa, a senior multimedia journalism major and audience engagement editor at UTEP’s The Prospector, helped at several tabling events around campus. He estimated he spoke to about 60 students and about half were unaware of the referendum. Some students were excited to be able to vote for something new. Others complained about other fees, especially for parking on campus.
No one mentioned the building’s historical significance, Hinojosa said. Even Loya, the SGA president, said he was unaware of the historical concerns.
Student Union reconstruction part of master plan
UTEP President Heather Wilson said that the current Union West is in poor shape and no longer serves as a hub for student life. She recently shared UTEP’s 10-year campus master plan with the University of Texas Board of Regents. The regents approved the plan, which included the razing of Union West, during their quarterly meeting in late August.
The referendum website states that it was decided after a comprehensive review by facilities services professionals that it would be more cost effective to demolish and rebuild a Union West than to renovate the existing building.
Union West, which has spaces for students to congregate, is home to several offices including the Dean of Students Office, University Career Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Support Services Program, the Student Engagement & Leadership Center and the UTEP Dinner Theatre.
Wilson told regents that some offices in the building cannot be used because they leak when it rains. She also shared that the university had $341 million in deferred maintenance projects as of Fiscal Year 2023.
She said that this will be a student decision. If the students approve the referendum, the matter will go to the state legislature that reconvenes in January. She said a new building will give students what they want and need to enhance student life.
“I think that will be a tremendous addition to the campus, and a restoration of some infrastructure that really needs it,” she told the regents.
In a conversation Monday with El Paso Matters, Wilson said that the master plan reflects the extreme care university leaders will take to preserve the beauty of future buildings.
“This is an American campus like no other,” Wilson said.
The post UTEP students to vote whether to pay for new Union West building appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More