Cultural Center Move Dining Room Remodeled New Food Service Options Laptop Checkout Program EBI/ACUI Customer Satisfaction Survey Advisor Profile: Nikki Hampton, Panhellenic Council Advisor Profile: Flo Clarke, Hui-O-Aloha

In early November, construction will begin on a brand-new home for the Cultural Center within the Union. The Center will move from its current location in the Student Union Annex to the second floor space currently occupied by the Student Organization Complex, with a grand opening of the new space scheduled for after the first of the year.

Cultural Center Coordinator, Ro Parker, said she is excited about the move for the benefits it will bring not only to the Center and to ethnic minority students, but also to the campus community as a whole.

Parker said the new Center could change the face of the Boise State student body over time. "I think it will be an excellent recruitment tool for ethnic minority students," she said, "in part because it will be a standard stop on the new-student-orientation campus tours. Non-minority students will also benefit from having ready access to the Center," she added. "Everyone is welcome at the Cultural Center," she said. "We want to be able to be a resource for every person on campus."

Moving into the Union means gaining not only visibility, but also elbow room. The annex space "has restricted what we're able to do," Parker said. "It's extremely cramped quarters." In fact, the space is so small that a gathering of even six people fills it nearly to capacity, so hosting meetings of larger ethnic clubs such as Organización de Estudiantes Latino-Americanos is out of the question. As a consequence, Cultural Center activities have had to be scheduled in rooms and venues all over campus rather than in a central location. This has been a logistical struggle that Parker said will be largely resolved by the new space, that has more than twice the Center's existing square footage.

"You'll see a lot more in-center programming next year," Parker said, "with more impromptu events being able to happen in the Center." In addition, she said, the new space will lend itself to uses such as a mentoring program and an art gallery.

Most importantly, though, Parker said, is the opportunity this move will provide for the Cultural Center to occupy a central position in student life on campus, both literally and figuratively. "The big push will be to bring people into the Center," she said. "We will be infusing culture into that area of campus." Being located in the same complex as student organizations also will allow for tremendous networking and collaborating opportunities.

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A year's worth of remodeling efforts in the Union dining room culminated in September with a lighter, brighter, reconfigured space that better meets the needs of its users.

"Part of what we wanted to do was create a different feel for the space," said Student Union Assistant Director, Jack Rahmann. To that end, several changes were made in the dining room, including: new chairs, tables, and booths, new carpet, the addition of live plants, brighter, higher-efficiency lighting throughout, textured acrylic panels on the divider walls to block noise in the room, the addition of single seating along the windows, and enlarging the stage and moving it from the west end to the east end of the dining area.

Rahmann said all the design changes, which were developed by Interior Designer Elizabeth Henson of Lombard-Conrad Architects in Boise, were directed toward making the space colorful and inviting. "We didn't want it to look plain or corporate," Rahmann said. "We tried to pick colors that weren't institutional." In addition, he said, the new seating arrangement creates smaller seating groupings, which breaks up the space and gives the room a more intimate feel.

For students who use laptop computers or other equipment in the dining room, six electrical outlets have been installed, and Rahmann said that more will be added because of the demand. With the rising enrollment on campus, more seating is needed in the dining room. A total of 45 more seats have been added with the remodel. The addition of barstool-type single seating along the north-facing windows frees up booths for larger groups, which allows more people to use the space.

The stage area, formerly located near Moxie Java and the Information Desk, has been enlarged and moved to the east end of the room so that performers do not interfere with the service areas. The new stage location also will allow for more separation between audiences for performances and patrons who are coming to the dining room for other reasons.

The last major remodel of the dining room was done in conjunction with the remodeling of the Union overall in 1991-92, and the furnishings and fixtures were all in need of replacement. A variety of groups provided input as to what changes were needed in the dining room, including members of the Student Union Board of Governors and student government officers.

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Diners in the Union now have a variety of new options for meals and snacks that should satisfy nearly any appetite.

ARAMARK, the campus-wide food vendor, has replaced Great Chefs with Tortilla Fresca and added Southern Tsunami Sushi in response to student surveys that requested Mexican and Asian cuisine in the Union. The Boar's Head Deli, Chicago Connection, Snake River Grille, and Moxie Java continue to provide sandwiches, grill items, and an assortment of espresso drinks.

Sales in the Food Court continue to grow. Sales in Tortilla Fresca compared to the Great Chefs concept have shown weekly sales growth between 60 and 90 percent. And the Southern Tsunami Sushi option is serving nearly 400 customers each week, surpassing sales in the Boar's Head Deli. "We obviously picked what the students wanted," said Student Union Assistant Director, Jack Rahmann.

Fresh Express, the convenience store next to the Food Court, has also seen some changes. The store now offers a greater selection of lunch items, both fresh and frozen, as well as a variety of bulk candies to tempt your sweet tooth. In addition, Fresh Express has lowered its prices across the board.

In the Table Rock Café, recent changes have included upgrades to the salad and dessert bars, as well as several new menu items. In addition, the student organization catering menu has been expanded with more choices, but no price increases from last year.

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One of the most frequently heard requests from students in the past few years has been for a computer lab within the Union. In September 2002, the laptop checkout program was created in response to that demand. Boise State students can now check out one of 19 fully-equipped laptop computers from the Information Desk to use anywhere in the building.

All the laptops have Microsoft® Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, said Information Desk Manager Debbie Sanders. They also have drives for CD-ROMs, Zip disks and standard floppy disks and are configured for wireless Internet access through the Union's high-speed network. Printing is available as well; users can print up to 25 pages free at the Information Desk, and may print additional pages for $.05 each.

Rules of Laptop Usage:

1. Only students are authorized to check out laptops and they must leave their Student ID with the Information Desk.
   
   
2. First-time users must show their student ID and driver's license as well as provide their Social Security number.
   
   
3. Users must also read and sign a liability statement accepting responsibility for any damage the machine may incur while it is checked out.
   
   
4. The laptops may be used anywhere within the Union, but may not leave the building.
   
   
5. Laptops may be checked out for a two-hour period and users may renew their checkout once if no one is waiting.

Sanders said the program has been well received by students so far. "Just recently through a survey done by the Union, our service was rated quite high," she said (see related article). "It is doing well and continues to grow."

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During the month of April 2003, 488 students entering the Union participated in the Educational Benchmarking Inc./Association of College Unions International (EBI/ACUI) Customer Satisfaction Survey that was conducted at 50 college unions nationwide.

Overall, students were highly satisfied with the Union's hours of operation, positive atmosphere, and cleanliness. In these areas, Boise State's score was above the national average for all unions surveyed. Students also gave high ratings to the laptop checkout program (see related article) and to the Information Desk.

They were less satisfied with the variety, quality and price of food available within the Union. These issues have been addressed by ARAMARK, the campus-wide food vendor, in two ways. First, two new food outlets have been added to the Union Food Court: Tortilla Fresca and Southern Tsunami Sushi. Second, the selection of items in the Fresh Express convenience store has been expanded and prices there have been lowered across the board (see related article).

Another issue identified by the survey was that students want retail food service outside the Union. "The survey reinforces dissatisfaction with the lack of options in food service on the west side of campus," said Rob Meyer, Associate Director of Student Activities. Currently, there are two Moxie carts offering drinks and snacks, and a Subway in the Education building. These are the only food options on the west side of campus. "We are aware of that limitation," Meyer said, and solutions are being explored.

The survey asked students what services they would use if those services were available in the Union. Two services that students would like to see in the Union included a 24-hour computer lab and a shipping and mailing service. The Union is responding to both of these.

The laptop checkout program has been expanded to 19 computers, which should address some of the demand for computer services. Options are being explored to expand this service even more. In response to the interest in a shipping and mailing service, the Bookstore web pickup area near the Games Center will be expanded this semester to include these services.

A larger issue revealed by the survey is the need for the Union to be more assertive in "branding" the programs it produces so that students recognize them as Union programs. "Students really see the Union as a place and not a program," Meyer said. "The building is really just one piece... It offers diverse and vibrant programming [but] students don't have an awareness that the Student Union is the major organizer or contributor to many other programs."

Successful programs such as Martin Luther King, Jr./Human Rights Week Celebration and Leadership Quest need to be more clearly identified as being produced by the Student Union. To address this concern, Union staff are actively researching ways to develop a distinct identity for Union programs and increase our "name brand recognition" among students as well as in the community.

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The activation this past spring of a Boise State chapter of Alpha Xi Delta brought the number of sororities on campus to three. Alpha Xi Delta joins Alpha Chi Omega, another national sorority that has been a campus fixture for more than 30 years, and Delta Beta Nu, a local social sorority.

The three groups have joined forces to form a Panhellenic Council, which is required on campuses hosting more than one national sorority. Nikki Hampton, a buyer for the Boise State Bookstore who has served as the interim advisor for the Panhellenic Council during its formation, said the council's purpose is to coordinate the activities of the sororities to present something of a unified front. "Their main focus is recruitment," which used to be known as rush, she said. The council's leadership is composed of members of both national houses, and Delta Beta Nu participates in a guest role.

Sorority membership at Boise State reached its peak in the 1970's when the campus hosted four national chapters, and it declined to its lowest levels in the early 1990's. Since the mid-1990's, though, Hampton said membership has been edging upward and now stands at nearly 80 women altogether among the three chapters. Alpha Chi Omega is the largest chapter with 35 members, while Delta Beta Nu has 23 members and Alpha Xi Delta has 20 members.

Hampton attributes the gradually rising numbers to a steady increase in the number of traditional college-age students (those 18-22 years old) who are choosing Boise State over University of Idaho or Idaho State University. These students typically are more interested in participating in organizations such as sororities and fraternities, Hampton said.

Greek life has changed, Hampton said, even since her own days as a Boise State Alpha Chi Omega in 1991-1994. "It's definitely not the 'Animal House' of the '80s," she said, referring to the 1978 movie that infamously (though fictitiously) depicted the debauchery of fraternity life. "Now the focus is more on philanthropy and scholarship as well as positive experiences in terms of leadership opportunities and networking through the alumni."

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There's no substitute for the real thing. Hui-O-Aloha advisor, Florence Clarke, doesn't just know something about Polynesia and its culture, she is a proud product of it and she holds a lifetime's knowledge of her native islands to share with the members of the club as well as the community.

Clarke was born and raised in American Samoa, a group of six Polynesian islands located in the South Pacific that is known as the heart of Polynesia. She moved to Boise in 1985 with her parents and three brothers, where the family joined her grandmother and several other relatives who had moved here several years earlier.

She first got involved with Hui-O-Aloha in 2001 and has been one of the club's three advisors since 2002. The club was originally called Hui-O-Hawaii when it was formed on campus in the 1970s, Clarke said, but it went briefly defunct before reactivating in 1995 as Hui-O-Aloha, a name that is more inclusive of all Polynesian and Pacific Island cultures. Hui means club, O means of, and Aloha has a variety of meanings including hello, goodbye and love.

"Everybody thinks of Hui as all fun and all games, but it's really not," Clarke said, noting that the annual Luau, the club's major fundraising event, takes a full year of planning and hard work by the entire group. "It's fun," she said, "but our fun comes after the work is all done." She laughs when she says it, but "everyone knows that if the work isn't done then Flo's not having fun, and if Flo's not having fun then no one is having fun."

"We try to make it real for [club members]," Clarke said, "making sure they know [and take] responsibility." She said she takes an active role in helping to "mold and mentor" club members to accept leadership challenges that develop real-world skills.

The club also provides a home away from home for members, Clarke said. "There are so many Polynesian kids who don't make it here," she said. "They miss their families and they go back home... because they don't have a connection to a community, to someone here. Because they don't have family here, they don't stay." One purpose of the club, she said, is to create a sense of family, or ohana, among the members as well as among the many members of Boise's Polynesian community who support the club. "Without community, this club would not be successful," Clarke said.

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