After attending the ASEWU open forum for predesign of the PUB remodel on Jan. 9, I think I may have had a small change of heart regarding the plans for renovating the 40-year-old building.

In my editorial last week, I talked about how inconvenient construction was for students and visitors on campus, and how a delay between the completion of Patterson Hall and whatever new project EWU takes on would probably be a very good thing.

I had no reason to worry, apparently.

While the PUB remodel is a definite “Yes,” the construction on the building will not happen for at least another two years, according to Troy Bester, senior project manager. There are many stages that need to be completed before construction can begin. The short list of those stages are: pre-design, design, budget and approval.

The open forum put on by ASEWU was a part of the predesign process. The meeting was opened and run by Perkins + Will, whose previous projects include Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center and the University of Wisconsin’s Dreyfus University Center. Perkins + Will was hired by EWU to provide architectural and engineering predesign services for the renovation, according to the PUB redesign webpage.

During the presentation, I noticed that student perspective and opinion was very important the Perkins + Will team emphasized that student opinions heavily influenced their design process.

The rest of the meeting was used to gauge what students liked and didn’t like about the PUB, and what they would most like to see added or changed in the future design.

Personally, I would love to see a new office space for The Easterner, preferably close to a food source and a bathroom. Many students talked about wanting the PUB to be more open, accessible and a more welcoming place. One student even suggested that the new design include a bar.

This forum was a good place to start the predesign of the PUB. Though the audience was fairly small, Perkins + Will have sent out a survey to students which asks similar questions to those posed at the meeting.

Each and every one of our readers take it.

As students of EWU, if there is something we don’t like about campus, then it should be our responsibility to make sure that it is changed to something we do like. By giving our opinion time and time again, we will make an impact on the design of the new building.

Don’t like the scary, smelly and often overflowing bathrooms of the PUB? Then take the survey and declare them your worst nightmare.

I challenge you, EWU students, to make your opinion heard in the design of this new building.

Interested in taking the”Reimagine the Pence Union Building” survey?

Check it out here.