The ISU Memorial Union is a gift that has been continually passed from one generation of students to the next. From its very beginnings in the late 1920s the Memorial Union was a place built by students, for students, in memory of students. As we look towards the next century now is not the time to turn control of the M.U. to the University.

Rather, we as students and alumni should meet the challenges faced by the Union head-on.

Recently I received a publication from the University touting the recent fund-raising accomplishments of the ISU Foundation. Apparently the Foundation has been able to raise well over $400 million to help the University meet its goals. Now, it is the Memorial Union’s turn.

I urge the Union board to begin planning a well overdue capital campaign to secure the future of a student run Memorial Union. The goal should be to retire the debt of the Union as well as secure the financial resources to renovate the rest of the beloved structure. If the University Foundation is able to raise $400 million, then surely alumni like myself are willing to contribute to a building that holds such great memories.

I further urge the student members of the Student Union Board to not take everything they are told at face value. Please don’t be backed into a corner. There are other options. These options may not be the easiest, but they will help preserve the place where students have worked, played, studied, relaxed, organized and had lunch for 70 years. Every student leader owes it to the students that will follow them to keep the Memorial Union in student hands.

Dustin Shaver

Alumnus

Yankton, S.D.