SGA is Making Atherton Union Better Than Ever with a Refresh

Before spring break, SGA’s Student Senate selected furniture from KI Furniture for the upcoming Atherton Union refresh. At an event in the Reilly Room on March 23rd, students were able to view mock-ups, blueprints, carpet and paint swatches and various pieces of furniture to give feedback and opinions on what should be done to freshen up Atherton.

Cassandra Stec | cmstec@butler.edu

Butler’s Student Government Association (SGA) has shared their ideas regarding an Atherton Union refresh known since current President Will Gigerich and Vice President Miki Kawahara started their presidential campaign over a year ago. These plans are starting to come to fruition through various discussions with administration, student groups and the Student Senate.

Will Gigerich, senior criminology major, is excited for the opportunity for students to have their voices heard regarding the new student furniture, paint and carpet samples.

“We think it’s important for something this large and such a large expenditure of student dollars, that we do it right and the way that students want,” Gigerich said. “We think this is a great opportunity for students to provide feedback on furniture, carpet and paint to make this a truly livable space for them and reinvigorate the campus living room that Atherton Union is supposed to be. We want to create a true union space.”

Before spring break, members from SGA’s leadership including some senators and executive branch members made a trip to select furniture for the refresh. The furniture came from Butler University’s furniture partner, KI Furniture. The university has previously purchased items from this vendor in the past to fill student spaces such as the newly designed Holcomb building. After the visit, KI Furniture created a variety of mock-ups and blueprints for students to look at, as well as offered suggestions as to what furniture might work best in the spaces SGA is able to redesign.

The furniture chosen was showcased at an event on March 23rd that took place in the Reilly Room from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.. In addition to the furniture, paint and carpet swatches were also available for students to look at and give opinions on.

SGA leadership wants to make sure that the final furniture selections have students' best interests in mind and truly serve students so that Atherton Union can feel personal to them.

“This is really the final selection process, where students can provide their feedback – what they like, what they don’t like, what’s comfortable and what’s not comfortable,” Gigerich said. “All [of] that will be taken into consideration when final selections are made and passed in Student Senate.”

Food was also offered as an incentive to get students to come out and make their voices heard. Many students walking past noticed the signs for the free food and attended the event because of this. Through this, SGA was able to get more students' voices heard and more students informed as to what steps SGA has been taking to make the student union more student-friendly.

The event led to over 100 students voicing their opinions on furniture, paint and carpet samples.

Megan Dudenhoeffer, a first-year music education major, was encouraged to attend the event by some friends who had participated earlier in the day. She took her time looking at the mock-ups, blueprints and samples that were displayed.

“I like the ideas and I think the new furniture is really cool,” Dudenhoeffer said. “I like how we’re getting a choice in what’s happening [in Atherton Union].”

The mock-ups of Starbucks and each floor of the union were helpful to students regarding envisioning where the furniture they were trying would go as well as what new spaces would be available to students on a more frequent basis, such as the University Room (AU111).

Erin Balaska, a first-year music education major, also attended the event specifically wanting to see the “Sway Chair'', an egg shaped chair that is one of the options for the furniture selection. She, just like Dudenhoeffer, took time out to look at every piece featured, especially the blueprints and mock-ups for Starbucks.

“It feels like we have some sort of say,” Balaska said. “I really like the different options for Starbucks, but I really hope they go with one that allows more seating where you can sit not with your back against the window, which seems to be a lot of what they have. I just feel like we have to utilize the windows.”

Listening to the students who expressed their opinions both verbally as well as through the survey available at the event, SGA now has a clearer idea as to what students want from their spaces as well as how best to support and serve them.

Gigerich encourages students to get involved in the Atherton Union refresh and continue to voice their wants for campus.

“This is a really important thing and something that is going to last on campus for a long time,” Gigerich said. “Taking the time to provide feedback really helps SGA and helps make sure that what we do is informed by the student experience and students themselves.”

The Atherton Union refresh will take place over the summer of 2022. All common spaces in Atherton, except for the Atherton Marketplace and Plum Market, will be given new furniture, carpets and paint.