We asked our writers if life on campus was thriving. What we got back was a diverse account of perspectives, dreams, and the occasional demand. So, we just let them go with it. Covering topics from sustainability to sushi trains and everything in between. Here is our first attempt to figure out where we go from here.
With a new million-dollar “Basement” and the recently opened, and soon to be rebranded, Union Kitchen in place it is getting harder to complain about the Student Union Building (SUB) needing development. Harder but not entirely impossible.
In the coming weeks, we are hoping to start on some interior signage programmes that will include two new digital poster boards for clubs, signage in English, Mandarin, and te reo Māori for every area inside the building, and a new Nexus stand with a suggestion box.
It’s all a good start, and well overdue but it is also obvious to anybody that the job is only half done. The Waikato Students’ Union (WSU) has worked with the University for a number of years to secure a single access prayer space for students, which it achieved upstairs in the SUB. We have also worked on getting more exterior signage highlighting that we are a Students’ Union Building. Something that would be instantly achieved if we were able to change the very look of the building and add some signage to the concrete retaining wall and exterior. The reality though is that we still need more space. Space for clubs, space for support, space for staff, and space for privacy. That last one is perhaps the most important one. Currently, our LGBTTIQA+ club UniQ is out in The Cowshed. To some extent, this makes sense because for those who aren’t comfortable being ‘out’ on campus, The Cowshed provides a safe space off the path.
However, what makes more sense is getting our damn building back. It has certainly been one of Kyla’s biggest priorities in her second term and discussions with the University have advanced significantly. It is likely going to be a case of not if but rather when. And when you think about it, that is exciting for everyone.
Imagine what would happen if the clubs and societies could actively book every room currently occupied by WSU and Nexus as well as a plethora of those upstairs. Support and Voice could hold appointments upstairs and both they and the Board could hold drop-in sessions for a few hours each day.
The current WSU reception would be nothing more than a storage space. For clubs, on both floors, they would have meeting rooms, club lockers, heating, and a small kitchenette. More than that it would free up some of the underutilised spaces in The Cowshed which could be repurposed either for pop-up retail or student startups and entrepreneur spaces.
The final touch would actually be refreshing the courtyard a bit. Putting a sustainable wall garden down one side of the building while creating a usable entertainment space outside The Cowshed. Putting fixed dining tables and a fixed barbeque there so that students can actually come and cook lunch should they want, even adding a fixed Bluetooth speaker and some solar power charging.
The front of the building would largely be as it is in the image, with the exception of the non-existent conference bus I ask Father Christmas for every year and painting the building black which the University will never go for. However, we could all benefit from a large LED screen with content that students actually care about rather than whatever ‘important messaging’ is on other digital screens.
The last few years have actually been really good ones for delivering things that students are going to want. Working with Māori, Pacific, and Muslim students to help deliver more meaningful spaces for them, as well as securing changes to a space that is becoming more utilised by students each day and has made comedy and quiz nights so much easier. The University has actually been a really big part of that and is more and more becoming a great collaborative partner. But the next thing they can do that will help benefit our students is give us our building back. Let us truly have places for clubs, privacy for advocacy, and a space for those communities that really need one. Also if you can provide an area to park a bus that would be super helpful too.
