Student Government Board town hall discusses WPU renovations to improve the student space

Associate Dean for Student Engagement Karin Asher started the Student Government town hall meeting on Tuesday night by introducing the renovations in the William Pitt Union. 

“Right now, this is a listening and learning phase, and then we take things from there,” Asher said. 

Asher introduced Amy Maceyko, principal at WTW Architects, the architect group completing renovations on Pitt’s WPU, O’Hara Student Center and Twentieth Century Club. 

“The buildings are in reasonably good shape and have good bones with lots of spaces available,” Maceyko said.

Maceyko said she observed the student spaces in the WPU and compared them to similar schools. She found that while Pitt’s student union offers lower food services, retail and multicultural spaces compared to other schools, Pitt has higher rates of large event spaces and administrative student spaces. 

Looking at trends other schools have incorporated into their student spaces, Maceyko found that food services, student services, outdoor spaces, gathering and collaboration, programming, specialty spaces, retail and wellness rank among the top. 

“Food space is our top priority,” Maceyko said. 

During the town hall, Maceyko surveyed the audience and asked what they wanted to see in the student union. 

The majority of students in attendance said they come to the WPU almost every day for student organizations, meeting space, eating and studying. Audience members said eating ranked lower on their list because of bad hours and having to order food in advance. 

When asked what student functions needed more space, the majority of students ranked multicultural and LGBTQ+ spaces as their top priority. 

Junior political science and theatre arts major Tamanna Khan said the Muslim Student Association lacked support and representation from the university.

“I believe that when it comes to space and those types of allocations, it would be incredibly meaningful to have a dedicated center,” Khan said. 

Zayaan Tirmizi, a sophomore neuroscience major, said the MSA has around 150 active members, and the only space the organization has to pray on campus is the reflection room on the third floor of the WPU that cannot host all members. 

“If you go to the reflection room, there are Muslims there who are either praying or trying to find a place to pray,” Tirmizi said, adding that during prayer nights Muslim students struggle with the lack of space. 

“It’s hot, it’s muggy and you cannot move around,” Tirmizi said. “For an organization that has 150 members that uses this space weekly up to four times a day, it would be a huge benefit to us.”

In addition to meditation and prayer spaces, students were also asked if they would like more speciality spaces in the WPU, including makerspaces, e-gaming, retail stores, community kitchens and recreation games. 

An audience member said they would appreciate a community kitchen, which Pitt does not have on campus. Students in the audience also said they would like a study space with open concept tables in addition to meeting rooms. 

SGB President Ryan Young said many of these spaces are already available in the Hillman Library, such as the makerspace. 

“We’re obviously right next to Forbes Street Market, which is convenient retail, or next to the bookstore, so a lot of stuff is already local,” Young said. 

Students also said they would like disability services to be more accessible at the entrance of the WPU. 

“We are looking at the building a couple floors at a time,” Maceyko said. “We want to have things land in the right place in the building, such as disability services at the entry level.”

Students also said they wanted more dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces as seen in universities of similar sizes such as Penn State and West Virginia University. 

Board member Olivia Rosati said she wanted clearer communication in the WPU about important events happening. 

“There are TVs on the main floor which circulate all the meetings that are happening in the building, but it’s dependent on making a reservation,” Rosati said. “It might not be representative of what the event actually is or highlight what is open to the public.” 

Students in the audience also said they wanted reservable spaces either in the Wellness Center or the Union for students that need to access online therapy. Dorms currently do not have space for students for private health and therapy appointments, which can make it difficult to find a private space for those with roommates. 

With the student feedback noted for the renovations, Amy Maceyko concluded the town hall by reminding students of the open forums and focus groups. 

Allocations

Club swimming requested funds for a national competition at Penn State. The board funded this request to a cap of $851.32. 

Delta Epsilon Mu requested $3840 for national dues. The board voted to approve the request in full.

Steel City Shershaah requested $2436.99 for lodging for a competition. The board voted to approve the request in full. 

Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society, requested funding to attend a convention in St Louis. The board voted to approve the conference cap amount of $1891.81. 

Political Science Student Association requested funding for a Supreme Court visit. The board voted to approve the amended amount of $2800. 

Club gymnastics requested funding to attend a national competition. The board funded this request to a cap of $7990.99. 

Arnold Air Society requested $2044 to attend a conference in San Diego. The board voted to approve the request in full. 

Men’s lacrosse requested $7387.11 to attend a competition in Knoxville and $2212.89 to attend a competition at Temple University. The board voted to approve both requests in full. 

Pre-medical Organization for Minority Students requested funding to attend a conference. The board voted to approve the amended amount of $2955.24.