PHOTO: Image shows map of UHCL with an arrow pointing to the planned student center. On the other side of the arrow are the words “Student Center” and a large question mark. Graphic by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II. — Map of UHCL with an arrow pointing to the planned student center. On the other side of the arrow are the words “Student Center” and a large question mark. Graphic by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II.

EDITORIAL: UHCL is long overdue for a student center

By Editorial Board Last updated Aug 30, 2021 780 0

Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us.”

Since 2014, UHCL leadership implemented broad changes making the once upper-level university more like other traditional four-year universities. This includes the downward expansion for freshmen and sophomore students in Fall 2014, the addition of the Recreation & Wellness Center in Fall 2018 and Hunter Hall in 2019. While these additions change the university’s culture for the better, UHCL is still missing the mark. The 47-year-old university is long overdue for a student center, which will transform UHCL from an academic necessity to a home.

In the realm of higher education, UHCL’s lack of a student center risks great loss of major student recruitment, student engagement and offers a fatal wound to the university’s supposed commitment to its students. Without a student center, UHCL risks shaming itself as it sacrifices student engagement, muddies its master plan into unclear territories and continues as the only Houston area university without such a vital building.

The features of the center vary based on the university, but generally student centers are a place of leisure that provide students with lounges, dining facilities, and settings for recreation and social gatherings like meetings or conferences. Student centers also might feature unique amenities such as prayer rooms, music and entertainment areas, among others. At the heart of their being, student centers are the only buildings on college campuses that prioritize student engagement and campus life for all students. Student centers have long been hubs for school spirit, student engagement and recruitment. For instance, the University of Houston’s two student centers (Student Center North and Student Center South) are prominent landmarks for prospective students visiting the campus.

A university of UHCL’s size lacking a student center is extremely uncommon, especially within the Houston area. Every university in the University of Houston System has a student center except UHCL. Moreover, the north, central and south campuses of San Jacinto College all have student centers, as do Texas A&M Galveston and College of the Mainland.

Despite what UHCL leadership wants the public to believe, UHCL is still a commuter school. The university’s commuter students, which still make up the majority of its population, do not always remain on campus after classes. This hinders UHCL’s ability to have high levels of engagement for greater student involvement.

Students waiting between classes usually must choose between sitting at tables in the hallways or completely leaving campus – the antithesis of what is seen on campuses with student centers.

PHOTO: Screenshot shows results of a survey given to students, staff and faculty titled “WHICH CAMPUS LIFE SPACES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE.” The survey lists the following results: Cafe or Food Venue, Lounge or Social Space, Recreation/Fitness Space, Study Space, Meeting Space, Student Club Space, Exhibition Space, Faculty/Staff support, Retail Space. The results are shown on a bar graph. Photo courtesy of The University of Houston - Clear Lake. Screenshot by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II. — A survey on page 15 of the Executive Summary of The Master Plan shows survey results of the spaces UHCL students wish to see on campus. All the spaces listed are features common in a student center. Photo courtesy of The University of Houston – Clear Lake. Screenshot by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II.

Studies show student centers increase engagement and college spirit because of their ability to keep students more interested in being on campus by providing a space for students to stay between classes and enjoy on campus life.

While UHCL’s Recreation & Wellness Center and the SSCB Student Lounge help to a degree in achieving what student centers should, these separate buildings represent components of a student center that do not equal even half of all a student center usually encompasses.

UHCL’s Master Plan includes a student center, with the location for it already determined. UHCL having a student center is more than just prospective – it’s simply a door waiting to be opened. The construction of the student center (or campus center as it is called in the Master Plan) is part of the first phase in the plan. Despite this, other buildings like the Recreation & Wellness Center have been completed first, with the Recreation & Wellness Center being part of Phase 2. While the residential hall is also part of Phase 1, the decision to delay planning for a student center is an illogical choice. The impact a student center would have on cultivating student life would only increase a desire for students to live on campus and want to utilize buildings like the Recreation & Wellness Center.

Questions surrounding the funding are warranted. Like many auxiliary buildings, the center would be partially paid for by students as part of their tuition fees. While students might feel that charging for the student center is unfair, as they will have graduated by the time the center is finished, this is standard practice. Students currently benefit from previously student-funded buildings such as the Recreation & Wellness Center and SSCB buildings.

Because it will be funded by and designed based on current students, UHCL’s student center will represent something its contemporary students had a hand in creating; it should be a source of great pride. Just as a student center is a vital part of college culture, tuition and fees going toward future buildings is a natural part of student life.

With UHCL moving forward with new initiatives much younger than the Master Plan, there is no excuse for the university to not begin the production of such an essential aspect of its downward expansion.

PHOTO: Screenshot depicts map of UHCL, displaying intended buildings as part of UHCL's Master Plan. The intended buildings are in different colors based on the phase of construction they are part of. Phase One is yellow. Phase Two is a light orange. Phase Three is a darker Orange. Photo courtesy of The University of Houston - Clear Lake. Screenshot by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II. — The Master Plan presents an outline of buildings intended to be constructed for the next ten years. Construction of certain buildings are divided into phases. “The envisioned scenario for this phase includes the campus center, welcome center/one stop building, STEM II building, and another academic building,” the plan reads. With the Recreation and Wellness Center part of Phase two, it is clear the university leadership has prioritized other buildings before others, choosing to create the recreation and wellness center before the “campus center.” Photo courtesy of The University of Houston – Clear Lake. Screenshot by The Signal Managing Editor of Content & Operations Troylon Griffin II.

With UHCL continuing to follow its Master Plan, the day will come when the referendum for the student center is proposed, and so comes the time for the students of UHCL to ensure its passing.

It is the duty of UHCL’s students to vote and do their part to ensure this long overdue building comes to fruition. Otherwise, the university’s current students themselves will risk doing a great disservice to the future students of UHCL.

With the addition of a residence hall and a recreation and wellness center, a student center is not the icing on the cake but the foundational cake itself to give UHCL the traditional feel it has spent years striving toward.