About 19,000 students are back at Washington State University and finding themselves without the Compton Union Building, which has long been a popular place to grab lunch, study, watch TV or meet with other students. The CUB is undergoing an $86 million renovation and isn't slated to reopen until August 2008. Freshmen who have never visited the CUB might be having the easiest time adjusting, said Kelly Brantner, director of marketing and communication for campus involvement. Everyone else is having to branch out and find other places on campus. WSU Libraries had a booth outside the CUB Monday and Tuesday to help point students in the right direction. Corey Johnson, head of library instruction, fielded questions Monday afternoon ranging from where to find offices once located in the CUB to how to get to the Student Recreation Center. Maps pointing students to where they can find offices like ASWSU, Greek Life and Multicultural Student Services are posted on the fence surrounding the CUB. Everyone is counting the days until they can go back to the CUB, Brantner said. In the meantime, most of the services once housed in the CUB are now scattered around campus. DINING Dining Services has added grab-and-go items such as sandwiches and salads to all of its espresso bars, said Liz Khosravi, associate director of Dining Services. All the dining halls will accept Cougar CASH while the CUB is closed and the Hillside Cafe is accepting Cougar CASH as well. Khosravi encourages people to go to the Northside Marketplace in Regents Residence Hall or the Stephenson Dining Center. "We are just absolutely slammed at the Hillside," Khosravi said. The Bookie also has added more pizza, buffalo wings, sushi, salads and pannini sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, said Patricia Wright, general manager of the Bookie. It also added some additional seating. It's not enough to pick up all the overflow from the CUB, but the Bookie is trying to offer more options, Wright said. Khosravi expects dining halls to be extremely busy for the next couple of weeks and then settle down. "Everything's kind of wild yet," she said. Dining Services also is offering a barbecue on the mall by Bryan Hall, weather permitting. "We've just sort of beefed up everything trying to take care of all the extra customers this year," Khosravi said. OFFICES Most of the ASWSU offices that were housed in the CUB are now located in the Ad Annex. Smith Gym, McAllister and the Washington Building also took some of the overflow. The Cougar Card office is now in the Washington Building, Cougar Copies is in Holland Library, and Washington State Employees Credit Union is in the Washington Building. There are ATMs located outside Holland Library, in the Bookie and in French Administration. The nearest full-service post office is on South Grand, but shipping and postage is available at Cougar Copies. "There's definitely been some confusion," Brantner said. STUDYING With the CUB gone, space to just hang out between classes or study is limited, said Lorena O'English, social science, reference and instruction librarian. WSU's libraries can offer a variety of places to study, have group meetings, read or use a computer, O'English said. "Libraries aren't just 'Shhhh' places anymore," she said, although the libraries do offer some quiet study areas as well. The libraries also are allowing food and drink, she said. O'English hopes to get a TV lounge set up in one of the libraries as well. "That was a big thing at the CUB," she said. The Bookie also offers some study areas and a TV lounge, Wright said. Students don't have to buy anything to sit in the cafe, she said. There's also a lodge area with tables, chairs, sofas and TVs, and a smaller sitting area in the general book department. The Bookie also provides a place for students to hold group meetings, she said. PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION With Wilson Road -- which leads to the CUB - closed, WSU police and parking officials recommend that people find less congested areas to drop students off and pick them up. They also recommend using the bus system to get around campus and using the park-and-rides around town. It is illegal to stop in roadways or to block bike lanes or fire lines on campus, and violators will be ticketed. WSU Police also ask that drivers keep bus pullouts clear. ON THE WEB Handy sites for getting around without the CUB http://cub.wsu.edu www.wsu.edu/campus-faq/ Erin Madison can be reached at (509) 334-2170, or by e-mail at emadison@dnews.com.
