Along with the new food court and bathroom renovations in the Memorial Union, the new student office spaces have also struck a chord of commotion among students.

Carol Cordell, student organization development coordinator, said nearly 60 campus organizations, ranging from Veishea to The Drummer, have offices on the ground floor of the Union across from the food court area.

However, many of the groups that received offices are not taking advantage of their privilege. Cordell said there are a number of spaces still waiting for the groups to move in.

“You can see that there are many groups that haven’t moved a thing in there,” she said. Just walking down the halls, she said, it’s obvious which ones are vacant. “It’s really clear,” she said. “There’s not a thing in their desks or on the walls. There’s no signs of life.”

Even though some of the offices are now vacant, they probably won’t stay that way for long. “We have 550 organizations on campus,” Cordell said. “So if there is one not being used, it should be reassigned to someone who needs it.”

Cordell said groups with no office space can still use the Union to get their mail.

She said some of the groups had to go through a period of adjustment before they got settled in.

Alan Beck, Veishea marketing co-chair, said the Veishea group is now more spread out than they were in its old office, which was located by the east entrance of the Union near Onion’s convenience store.

“It’s a little hard to communicate,” Beck said.

Beck said there are a few more things that he would like to change about the new space. “We would rather have an office that has a main entrance. I get the feeling that people liked the centralized way better.”

Beck said on the positive side, the new office gave his group a bit more space. But he said overall “it’s just a little bit awkward. It’s hard to get together as a cohesive unit.”

Another group adjusting to the change is the College Republicans, although their new office “seems to be working out pretty well,” according to Steve Baumgarten, College of Republicans chairman.

His group shared their old office, which was located on the second floor by the Gallery Room, with two other groups. “We used to have more space, but a lot of it was wasted.”

Both Baumgarten and Beck alluded to the number of vacant offices. “It’s real evident,” Beck said.

Baumgarten said, “There are a few empty desks that no one’s at.”

He said a new club that he formed, the Iowa State Cigar and Pipe Smokers’ Society has already received approval to move into one of the vacant spaces.

One group that could not be happier with the new set-up is the Greek System. The Intrafraternity and Panhellenic Councils, Intra Fraternity Council and Panhel Rush, Gamma, and Minority Pan Hellenic Council all share one office, but there are no complaints concerning a lack of space.

“I think it’s worked out really well,” said Stu Sorrel, IFC Executive Vice President. He said the new set-up gave itself to better communication between the groups and an increased sense of diversity.

He said the groups have not had any problems with access to the office and “the personnel are really friendly and helpful.”