Student leaders are divided about what to do with the Memorial Union’s Browsing Library.

At a forum held in the Maintenance Shop in the Union Wednesday afternoon, members of the Government of the Student Body and Student Union Board presented their views.

Options are to eliminate the Browsing Library by renovating the space into more than 30 student offices, move it to another location in the Union or leave it at its present location.

Jennifer Sulentic, vice president of GSB, is in favor of moving the Browsing Library to the northwest corner of the second floor of the Union and using the space for offices.

“Of the existing offices, some have up to five groups in one room,” she said. “Some groups do not have file cabinets, phones or even desks. We need to look at what the students need today. When the Union was built, there were not 500 campus organizations.”

The Union’s original architect, W.T. Proudfoot, designed it so the Browsing Library and Chapel were located beneath the war memorial, Gold Star Hall. Proudfoot said he felt those who fought in the wars held strong religious convictions and were proud of their culture and history. Some believe the Browsing Library should remain in its current location because of its symbolic meaning.

Matthew Goodman, a GSB senator and member at-large for SUB, said: “The Browsing Library is an island unto itself in a very busy hallway. The best utilization of the space is to let the Union keep its aesthetic qualities, its own mind and spirit. No man, woman or being has any right to change someone else’s chosen symbol.”

Scott Vinson, chief of staff for GSB, said most of the students he talked to agreed that moving the library is a viable option. Since plans for the Union include making the area near the library high traffic, the Browsing Library would no longer be a quiet room, as it was intended, he said.

However, Patrick Murray-John, president of SUB, said the Browsing Library is an escape. “Going there is like going through a crack in the wall,” he said.

Jill Crew, a junior in agricultural studies, said students’ needs should be the first priority.

“I have been involved in many groups, and the office space for student groups is too small,” Crew said. “Some groups have to hold meetings and work at home. They (GSB and SUB) are trying to make the university better for us, the students, not to cause conflict. People who use the Browsing Library now, will still use it if it is upstairs.”

Martin Teply, a member of the Creative Writing Club, said his group is the only one that uses the Browsing Library on a regular basis.

“The Browsing Library is the cornerstone of the Memorial Union. There is not an area on campus like it. You can get something to eat, play a video game, then chill out in the Browsing Library,” Teply said. “When someone builds a building or creates a picture, they have something in mind. People shouldn’t be allowed to tear it down and build over it in the name of renovation.”

It has already been decided the Chapel will not be maintained. Plans for renovating the Union include expanding office space, creating new restrooms, an elevator and a new traffic circulation pattern.