University of Virginia Library

Functional

A large, functional, appealing
student union building serves a
wide range of students, faculty and
townspeople. Its use is not
restricted to a small group whose
interests happen to coincide with
the limited purposes to which the
building is designed. There is much
more to be gained by building a
new Union building than a new
track, football field, or other such
non-necessity.

Somewhere along the line our
priorities have gotten really screwed
up. Money for the Athletic
Department but the library suffers.
Last summer a devoted group of
students, including Clay Spencer
spent a good deal of their time
collating a study of the interests of
the student body and cataloging the
failures of Newcomb Hall to
provide satisfactory outlets for
those desires. They produced a
booklet which everyone ought to
read (unfortunately there are a
limited number of copies available)
which proposes a large quantity of
changes that could be made to
improve the current Newcomb Hall
setup. Their ideas are practical,
well-thought out, and relate
directly to the quality of life problem.