“Go patient boy, go!,” I’m saying to myself right now.

I admit that I’d better fulfill my responsibility to pound out some socio-political fodder first. Fugazi can wait for me until showtime.

Besides, by the time you read this, the show will be long over and I’ll probably still be in bed, sleeping off some liquid grain fun.

Alright then, let’s get down to business. What’s on the guillotine this week? Why not ask the Government of the Student Body and the Student Union Board? Tonight GSB decides the fate of the Memorial Union Browsing Library and Chapel, open since 1956. Yes, that’s right, President Dan “Cro” Mangan and Co. will hastily rush into one of the biggest decisions the Union has ever been subjected to.

Last month, GSB and SUB presidents requested student input concerning the fate of the Browsing Library and Chapel in the face of upcoming renovations insisted upon by the M.U. Board of Governors. Despite the fact that support for keeping the space has been running high, it’s future is still uncertain. The claim officials have continually used in drafting renovation plans which compromise the current arrangement is that there’s a lack of interest. This simply isn’t the case. Comment after comment collected by the likes of Off-Campus Sen. Matthew Goodman attest otherwise.

Still, the future is unclear because of firm plans to renovate parts of the Union this May, including the creation of more student office space. In order to facilitate interaction through the sharing of resources, all student offices will be located on the ground floor. Inevitably, this means that they’ll surround the browsing library. Therefore, the library will have to be removed, altered or relocated.

W.T. Proudfoot, the Union’s original architect, intentionally put the library and chapel underneath Gold Star Hall, a war memorial. His reasoning was founded in the fact that he believed veterans fought for strong national religious ideals, as well as historical, cultural, and literary values.

In spirit of that tradition, many people prefer to keep the Browsing Library where it is, on the ground floor. But, according to renovation plans, it will shrink when pushed back toward the north wall. The space is not very large as it is. Furthermore, the space would also lose a good deal of its distinctive and quaint atmosphere if student offices were located in the vicinity. Renovation plans call for shared computer labs and other facilities located in open-air areas. Lacking walls, these areas would significantly increase noise on the ground floor, nullifying the comfort of the library. The Browsing Library also risks becoming a meeting place for student organizations, which is not its intended purpose. While it may be a place to relax, it’s not intended to be a “hangout.”

So, these are important things to consider when contemplating a proper course of action. Unfortunately, however, they aren’t being considered. GSB Sen. Sandra Frantzen phrases it well when she says that students are being pushed into their decision without all the information. I, like Frantzen, wonder why architect Al Oberlander’s plans are naive enough not to offer additional options.

Consider this: If relocation of the browsing library and chapel to the first floor violates Proudfoot’s vision, why aren’t student offices planned for the first floor instead? And are we, as students, seriously expected to believe that there are no other spaces available to student organizations?

I’m not an architect, and I’m not going to pretend to be one. But looking at the half-ass sham jobs that the Union has undergone before (as Goodman put it, the northern walls were made with potato sacks), I suggest that everybody slow down. What’s the rush? If you want it done right, done as to make everyone happy (after all, it is the student union), I suggest that this be given a second look. Anybody on the M.U. Board of Governors reading this? Chill, baby, chill!

Goodman led me to believe that many student organizations haven’t even requested new office space. Why not consider this? And are the student organizations that do want space in support of sacrificing the Browsing Library? Has anybody bothered to ask them? Why not?

I admit that Monday was the first day that I was in the Browsing Library. I’d hate to think it was one of my last. I fell in love with it. If you haven’t already, go in there and bond with the couches, chairs, study space, book collection, music, movies, games and puzzles. Lounge.

And since GSB moves quicker than lightning (often without listening to the facts, sneaking behind their constituents backs) raise your voice now. Impact tonight’s vote. Chain yourself to the Library or Chapel. E-mail, call the GSBoffice at 294-1585 or visit Goodman, Mangan, Frantzen or any other senator. E-mail all GSB executives at [email protected]. Vocalize to members of SUB; Brian Messanger ([email protected]) and Patrick Murray-John ([email protected]) will be happy to listen. Get in the face of the M.U. Board of Governors. And go to the Wednesday’s meeting at 7 P.M. in the Pioneer Room. Do something and do it now. Save the integrity of ISU, Proudfoot, the Union and yourself.

David C. Ptak is a senior in philosophy from Long Island, N.Y.