The Idaho Student Union Building is the only campus building which can be changed and altered by University of Idaho students’ input and opinions.
The building, formerly the Idaho Commons, was renamed the ISUB last year due to the Association of College Unions International. The ISUB Board, a group run mostly by students and some faculty, has taken the lead on changes within the building, taking UI’s student body in utmost consideration.
Former ASUI President Jacob Lockhart stated “this is more than a renaming – a structural overhaul that now provides a governing board represented almost entirely by students. The ISUB Board will work to put student voices at the forefront of the decisions and happenings of the ISUB space,” in a guest voice article last January.
Every semester, the ISUB Board takes proposals from students for roughly a month on possible changes to the building. Resources to create and submit proposals can be found on the ISUB’s webpage.
Hanna Spear, the director of the ISUB Board, has been actively campaigning for the student proposal process, describing it as an opportunity for students to have a say on what happens in the building, from which offices go where to which resources the building offers, even going so far as “reconstructing the building and tearing down walls.”
The ISUB Board consists of both voting and non-voting students and faculty who discuss the validity and feasibility of proposals presented to the board. They conduct a simple vote to determine whether each proposal will move forward. If passed, a modified proposal is written and presented to UI President C. Scott Green.
The ISUB Constitution and Bylaws state “if it’s a reasonable request that is funded, (the President and Vice president) will approve that proposal,” Spear said.
The ISUB Board has not met yet to discuss any proposals or potential changes. They will most likely meet after the conclusion of the proposal process, according to Lauren Carlsen, ASUI president and vice chair of the ISUB Board.
The ISUB Board will be accepting proposals until Oct. 16. If that deadline isn’t met, they will begin accepting proposals again sometime early next semester.
“There is so much room for improvement in the building. I’m really excited to see what people are coming up with,” Spear said.
Carter Kolpitcke can be reached at [email protected].