The PUB remodel has been creating more questions than answers. While it’s true a remodeled PUB would create more appeal to incoming students and give EWU a more impressive image, there are still questions as to why the PUB is the chosen target and not other buildings on campus.

We know the PUB was chosen in lieu of academic buildings due to funding — academic buildings have to be funded by the state, whereas the PUB and other student buildings can be funded by students. However, the question still remains why a building like the PUB, which is more or less functional albeit old and occasionally labyrinthian, needs to be completely remodeled when many of the residence halls seem to be falling apart at the seams.

The most obvious answer would seem to be marketing. Student union buildings are one of the first buildings prospective students see on any college campus, and having an attractive student union certainly isn’t a negative. But functional dorms are arguably more persuasive for freshmen — especially with the new requirement that first-year freshmen live on campus.

The tuition add-on to pay for the PUB remodel isn’t exactly small, and since most current students won’t be at Eastern long enough to reap the benefits of their forced contribution, there really isn’t much to convince us to vote for it. It may sound selfish, but when you’re counting pennies to buy coffee, an extra $65-69 per quarter, or $189-207 per year, can be daunting.

One solution that might take some pressure off the students to pay extra would be to have dining services foot a portion of the bill. Dining services would be gaining a lot from a new PUB — more, and potentially better, food options, for example. Perhaps if dining services were able and willing to help pay for a new PUB it could help with students being more open to the remodel.

Ultimately, a new PUB isn’t inherently something we want to turn our noses up at, but when it’s going to cost us so much for something we won’t even get to see completed, and that money could be spent in other places for a similar boost in marketability, it doesn’t quite seem worth it.