H -°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°When the Union South Design Committee was in full swing last year, then-Vice President for Project Management Dan Cornelius was a strident defender of student input in the building. When this editorial board made a glib comment about the Union screwing over students with the project, Mr. Cornelius made attempts to convince us that the process was sound and there was nothing fishy going on.
Well, we finally believe him — to an extent. It’s a shame that he’s attempting to convince us of the exact opposite this time around.
As the Associated Students of Madison appointee to Union Council, Mr. Cornelius decided to make it his mission to fight for student representation and fight to keep the Design Committee open to students. The only problem? The committee had apparently finished most of its work and all that was left to be decided was the furniture.
But to Mr. Cornelius, tables and chairs were the seeds of democracy. He would make sure that students at the University of Wisconsin were assured their inalienable right to decide on upholstery color schemes. He stormed Union Council, stormed the student papers and he stormed Shared Governance.
And we all yawned.
It’s not that we don’t think students need a larger stake in the Union South project. As far as we’re concerned, we own this project. But it’s a nearly $250 million plan being paid off over the course of more than 30 years. There are construction costs to scrutinize, budget presentations to evaluate and a level of fiscal responsibility to be had. When you consider those factors, furniture is sort of a red herring, isn’t it?
We enjoy the enthusiasm, Mr. Cornelius, we really do. But maybe it should be directed somewhere more productive.
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Really, Badger Herald Editorial Board? Don’t you see that this is about a whole lot more than simply finishing the furniture design for Union South?
As we speak, the Union is already moving forward on planning and visioning for Memorial Union without even considering plans for the next iteration of a Design Committee process that was pledged as part of the 2006 referendum.
Your editorials preach about ASM becoming relevant by taking stands on important issues. Well, the Wisconsin Union’s leadership just eliminated the students’ procedural right to majority oversight in this project.
My efforts have simply sought to protect this student right.
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“Well, the Wisconsin Union�s leadership just eliminated the students� procedural right to majority oversight in this project. My efforts have simply south to protect this student right.”
Amendment to your diatribe, Mr. Cornelius. “My efforts have simply sought to proect this sudent’s right.” You see overly concerned about student involvement even though the CURRENT student leaders assure you and the campus that they are comfortable with where the Union is.
Patrick Tilley’s letter to the editor, as published 10-16-09
Dan Cornelius left office knowing there would be no permanent iteration of the design committee for the remainder of the NSCU building project, and that the next year of the project was entering a new phase because construction had begun. A plan to involve students over the summer in Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) selection was set at the May 18 Union Council Executive meeting. Plans included one midsummer meeting of an interim design committee to review decisions made to that point. This interim design committee never met because the FF&E process was postponed, as there were not enough students around during the summer to provide adequate input. Therefore, no FF&E selections were made this summer until more students could be involved. Furthermore, since coming into this position in May, I had never heard of the need or desire for a design committee in the fall as there was nothing left to design. Cornelius is worried that without a design committee, there is no student involvement in the project, but that is patently false. Many students were asked to participate in the fall FF&E selection process. E-mails were sent to former design committee members and current Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) committee members. There were posts on the project Facebook page, Twitter and blog, along with two �Chair Fairs� where any student could provide feedback on the selections. The Chair Fair at Memorial Union Bash in August elicited over 500 responses from new students. Cornelius sees the design committee as the end-all-be-all of student involvement. What he does not realize is that students have been adequately represented at all levels of the project. Hoofers President Paul Davidsaver is a student representative at core committee and construction meetings, which deal with the nuts and bolts of the project. Along with Paul and Union student employee Taralinda Gushue, I serve on the advance team which organizes operational planning decisions. This Saturday I conducted a retreat with 17 students to discuss how WUD will function in the NSCU. Another component of the retreat was brainstorming how WUD can involve the broader student population in these discussions. We plan to hold public forums in the near future to achieve this. Another facet of student involvement is the Building Project Student Outreach Team that will begin promoting the project this week at Badger Bash. To this date, students have had and will continue to have control over every aspect of the project.
It seems as though you’re just having problems letting go of the power and responsibility you had when you were the leader. Let Patrick do his job, his way.