Ceremonial ground breaking and celebration for the new Student Experience Center, the Student Experience Plaza and the renovation of the Memorial Union East Wing is this week.  On Thursday May 23, 2013 at 4 PM in the Memorial Union Brick Mall.

At this point I thought it would be nice to look back at the history of this project in video clips that have been created.

History of Student Buildings

Vote: Student Experience Center Referendum

Student Experience Center Fly Through

Name this Building and Plaza

Student Experience Center at Oregon State University

Ground breaking celebration Thursday, May 23, 2013 from 4 to 5 PM.  Join us as we begin work for three student building projects: Student Experience Center, Student Experience Plaza and the renovation of the Memorial Union east wing.  The ceremony will take place next to the Memorial Union parking lot.  Guest speakers representing OSU students and staff will be there.  There will also be a display of architectural drawings and floor plans. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Following the ground breaking, be sure to visit the Student Media open house in the KBVR television studio.

 Tickets are going fast for the Moms and Family Weekend Comedy Show, Saturday May 4^th.  There are two shows, one at 6:30 and a repeat performance at 9:00 PM in the LaSells Stewart Center on OSU Campus.  This year there are three comedians featured, Dan Cummins Lisa Landry and Natasha Leggero.  You can learn more about this talented group of comedians from their websites:

Leggero: http://www.natashaleggero.com/

Landry: http://www.lisalandry.com/

Cummins: http://www.dancummins.tv/

Tickets are available online at: http://mu.oregonstate.edu/mupc/momscomedytickets.  See all three comedians for $38 for main floor seats and $34 for the balcony.

Wine Bar will be available at LaSells Stewart Center from 5:30 to 9 PM presented by Willamette Valley Vineyard.  Enjoy hors d’oeuvres with your purchase of a glass of wine before the comedy show.

Show may contain mature content. Accommodations for disabilities may be made by calling 541-737-1369

Moms and Family Weekend is organized by students of the Memorial Union Program Council (MUPC).  A schedule of all of Moms and Family Weekend events can be found at: http://mu.oregonstate.edu/mupc/momsweekend

The Memorial Union terrestrial globe has return to its home of the last 85 years.

With the return of the 1928 globe to the Memorial Union after restoration, we decided to create an update version of the first photo of the Memorial Union’s globe.  We have no idea who the three students are in the 1928 photograph.  We have searched OSU Archive and Beaver Yearbooks with no luck.  We do know our current students; all involved in the Memorial Union activities.  From left to right:

Nicole Hernandez, Art major and curator of the MU Concourse Gallery

Suzanna Shakya, Civil Engineering major ISOSU Internal Coordinator

Fatimah Almousawi, Bio-resource Research major and prior Saudi Arabian Student Association and Student Event and Activities Center leader

The photograph was taken by Julie Knapp, Digital Communications Arts major.  I am sure future students and staff will care for this historic globe, one of only three in the United States for the next 85 years. That means students at Oregon State University in the year 3000 will be looking at an image of Nicole, Suzanna and Fatimah and thinking about the time they spent in the Memorial Union lounge.

Java Stop

Bites

Buenos Burritos

Pangea Cafe

Java II in the Valley Library

e.Cafe in Kelley Engineering Center

Ava’s Cafe in Linus Pauling

Dixon Cafe in Dixon Recreation Center

It is easy to stay up today with what is happening in your favorite location from menu change, break time hours, daily specials and more.  Just connect to their social media sites.

MURFS

Java Stop

Bites

Buenos Burritos

Pangea Cafe

Java II

e.Cafe

Ava’s Cafe

Dixon Cafe

Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com

/mufood/

The Oregon State University Memorial Union was recognized by The Arc of Benton County as an honored employer.  The Arc honors the businesses who hire local people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), who work with vocational agencies to ensure the success of each new hire and who take the extra steps to be an employer who is committed to our community.

The Arc of Benton County advocates and provides services, as needed, to enhance the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The Arc of Benton County was founded in 1958 by family members and concerned citizens to advocate for people with intellectual developmental disabilities. It is a member-based corporation affiliated with The Arc of the United States. Through the creation of education, employment, housing and recreation opportunities, The Arc of Benton County helps those with I/DD to achieve their life goals. Link: www.arcbenton.org

For 10 years, the Memorial Union has hired Arc members who work with our building services team in supporting the maintenance of this 85 year historic landmark. The program not only provides a needed service to the building, it also provides a diverse work experience for the Memorial Union staff and the Arc members.   Multicultural organizations have employees from different backgrounds working together. The Memorial Union works to embrace differences as assets.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

The annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is about coming together to honor Dr. King’s life and legacy and help further his dream for peace by serving our neighbors and communities. MLK Day is a perfect opportunity for us to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. The MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, builds bridges, breaks down barriers, addresses social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of strong, beloved communities.

Students, staff, and faculty are invited to take part in this event and celebration.

8+ service projects will be offered for the 2013 event addressing diverse issue areas and including various types of projects. Pre-registration is required. Participants will assemble at McAlexander Fieldhouse between 8:30 and 9am on Saturday January 19th. Continental breakfast and hot tea/coffee will be provided during the check-in process and a hot lunch will be provided upon return to campus between 1pm and 1:30pm. The 2013 MLK Day of Service is sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement, the Student Events and Activities Center, and HandsOn Willamette.

Take time to learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from The King Center and the National MLK Day of Service.

New Day, Same Dream: Hosted by Center for Leadership Development.  January 15, 2013, Tuesday 5:00 to 6:00 PM in the Memorial Union Journey Room.  Come and discuss how Martin Luther King, Jr’s dreams and leadership lessons can apply to our generation.  Explore how his vision can inspire us to take action and face our challenges.  Contact Melissa Yamamoto for questions at melissa.yamamoto@oregonstate.edu or at (541)737-6385.  Request for accommodations related to a disability can be made by calling Disability Access Services at (541)737-4098 by January 10, 2013

We Have a Dream: A Reader’s Theatre of Peaceful Heroes

Readings from past Nobel Peace Prize winners: Martin Luther King Jr. (1964), Nelson Mandela (1993), Muhammad Yunus (2006), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1992) and Tawakkol Karman (2001).

• Thursday, January 17^th
• 6:00- 7:15 PM
• OSU Memorial Union Journey Room, Oregon State University campus
• Student Events & Activities Center (SEAC) and International Students of OSU (ISOSU)
• Requests for accommodations related to a disability can be made by calling Disability Access Services at 541-737-4098 by January 14.

One of the architectural significant features of the Memorial Union is the chandelier in the rotunda of the building.  It is original to the Memorial Union and was in place when the building opened in the fall of 1927.  Because the chandelier is about 40 feet above the floor of the rotunda, many people wonder how we change the bulbs.  The architects of the MU planned for this maintenance activity by installing an electric winch to raise and lower the chandelier.  A very forward thinking concept in 1926 when the building was being designed, since electricity had come to Corvallis only 10 years before.

This wench system did cause a problem in the summer of 1991 about 65 years after it was installed.  During one of the routine bulb replacements, the cable attached to the chandelier broke and the fall to the floor.  The chandelier was damaged, but repairable.  The restoration work was done by local sculpture, Raymond Hunter.  You can still see some chips in the travertine floor where the chandelier hit, if you know where to look.

The chandelier fall and re-installation were covered in the Daily Barometer newspaper  in 1991.  Before the chandelier was reinstalled, a new winch was commissioned along with heaver support cable.  You can see the Barometer photos at this link. Chandelier-Barometer July 1991

In 2011, when scaffolding was installed in the rotunda for repainting, the chandelier was removed again.  While it was in storage, a local electrician completely rewired the chandelier to bring it up to current code requirements.  There chandelier should serve the Memorial Union well for the next 100 years.

One of the prominent items in the Memorial Union lounge from the beginning has been a 30 inch diameter terrestrial globe and with its stand, measures 50 inches tall. The antique globe in the main lounge was a gift from the class of 1929.  The globe was made in 1926 or 1927 and can be dated from the boarder and name changes on its maps.  Globe lists the area of Russia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the city of Istanbul is labeled Constantinople.

Over the last 85 years the globe has sustained substantial damage.  In the fall we shipped the globe off to TKM Conservation Studio for restorations in Massachusetts.  This week we received an update on the progress and the change is amazing.

There are still several months work left on the globe and stand before it is shipped back to Corvallis, but we hope to have it in time for graduation in June of 2013.

The maker was W. & A.K. Johnston of Edinburgh and London.  The Johnson brother learned engraving from James Kirkwood and after the Kirkwood factory burned down in 1824, William Johnson (1802-1888) founded a cartographical institute in 1925.  One year later his brother Alexander Keith (1804-1871) joined him.  The company produced mainly maps and atlases for schools and began manufacturing globe around the mid-19^th century.  Their largest globe was a 30-inch diameter physical terrestrial globe which won a number of medals at the Great Exhibition and received a royal appointment.

Good news for both the Student Experience Center (SEC) proposal and the Plaza last night at the Corvallis Historic Resources Commission hearing.  Both projects passed unanimously, even though it took four hours of hearing to get to the final decision.  Next up, the MU East Wing, as well as the Asian Pacific Cultural Center will go before the HRC on January 8^th.

The OSU students and one community member who testified did in incredible job and were very well prepared.  Thank you to one and all who played a role in getting this final stage of approval through.   Thanks also to the standing room only crowd who came out to support the students in their testimony and hear the action of the Commission first hand.  Early work inside the MU begins Spring Break followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in May for the SEC and parking lot removal and excavation the Monday after graduation in June.

OPSIS SEC Presentation: 2012-1217 OSU SEC HRC-Final-edits

OPSIS Canopy Presentation: 2012-1217 OSU Canopy HRC-Final-edits

Student Support Presentation: HRC support

Michael Henthorne, Director