Student activity spaces must be priority in UI’s future
The University of Idaho Moscow campus has never been large in comparison to the physical space taken up by peer institutions. It’s quaint, compact and the walk across campus never takes more than 10 minutes.
But within this space, the limited areas designated specifically to students continue to disappear as the university grows, remodels and adapts to increasing administrative needs.
Buildings that previously housed activities for students have now been limited to administrative offices. Lounges have been turned into temporary department space and the campus itself has become a place where students increasingly only visit to attend class. The campus becomes a ghost town after the workday, rather than a place for students to unwind after a long day. That’s not in line with the environment of a residential campus.
Last week, ASUI President Nate Fisher proposed raising student fees by $2 per student in order to fund and improve the quickly disappearing student space. Fisher pointed out that while renaming the Student Union Building after former dean of students Bruce Pitman is purely ceremonial — and deserved by Pitman — the change marks the symbolic end of the building as a student-dominated area, a transition that began with the construction of the Idaho Commons.
While study spaces at UI are ample, recreation outside the Student Rec Center has ceased to exist on campus. Dining areas, dance clubs and bowling alleys have all disappeared from campus, despite being staples in student unions at regional institutions like Boise State University and Washington State University. These student activity spaces create bonds between students and contribute to a vibrant campus culture.
The UI campus is residential, with most of the student body residing on or near campus, yet many head downtown to mingle and relax or stay in their respective housing groups during their downtime, whether it be a Greek house, an off-campus apartment or the residence halls.
It’s hard to argue with those who think UI is beginning to feel more akin to a community or commuter college than a full-fledged university that places student life at the forefront of the college experience.
UI has long valued being student centered, but that culture must be maintained and prioritized.
As the university seeks to increase enrollment — a goal set by university presidents for decades — it will need to increase the already limited student space in order to accommodate the new students, and more importantly, to retain them.
UI is not a community or commuter college, but if campus leaders aren’t careful and ignore student requests, those labels could well describe the atmosphere of UI in the future.
— KK