On September 16, 2024, UTEP students will be asked to vote on a referendum to raise their fees to pay for a new student union building by demolishing the existing Union West Buildings.
The UTEP Student Government Association (SGA) favors the new fee, which increases it by an astounding 400% to $150 from $30. The SGA presented their position on their website: https://www.utep.edu/student-affairs/sga/union-referendum/
Their argument contains several inaccurate statements that require a point-by-point rebuttal.
Why do we need a new Student Union West?
The Student Government Association (SGA) wrote:
The current Union West was built in 1949. Although the building has undergone renovations since then, a new building is needed to support the infrastructure and technology that students expect and require for their academics, student organizations and activities.
This is an oversimplification. Union West consists of two buildings or wings. The first wing was built in 1949. Percy McGhee, a prominent southwestern architect, inherited the Bhutanese Revival architectural style perfected by Henry Trost, who died in 1933.
Many buildings designed by McGhee are now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the Student Union Building, McGhee designed eight other campus buildings, the first being the El Paso Centennial Museum in 1937. McGhee’s other buildings on campus include the Geological Sciences Building’s first wing, Bell Hall, Cotton Memorial, Hudspeth Hall, Magoffin Auditorium, Miners’ Hall, and the Psychology Building.
When plans for a new student union building were drafted during World War II, 1,000 students attended the university. By the time construction began in 1947, the building was already too small, as enrollment had doubled.
Enrollment continued to grow during the 1950s, and a new student union building was proposed. McGhee had retired, and an architectural firm, Davis, Foster, Thorpe, and Associates, was hired. While their new wing featured the slope battlement walls of the Bhutanese revival style, its “modern” style, as they called it, omitted other elements, such as projecting roof eaves and roofline bands.
UTEP students deserve a larger student union. However, they don’t need to destroy historic campus heritage sites to get one. As has been demonstrated with other landmark buildings, such as Old Main, these early Trost and McGhee buildings were over-engineered, making them ideal candidates for renovation that preserves their exterior classical aesthetics.
What will be in the new Student Union West?
The SGA wrote:
The new Student Union West would enhance the overall campus experience by providing more collaborative spaces for students or student organizations to gather, new dining options, a game room, enhanced technology, a large ballroom and more outdoor, shaded seating.
The McGhee wing has architectural, historical, and cultural significance worthy of preservation, including an elegant ballroom that, when renovated, could serve as a multi-use space.
The new building plans do not include features or design elements representing UTEP’s Hispanic heritage. As the nation’s leading Hispanic-serving university, the interior of the building should celebrate UTEP’s Hispanic culture. At the same time, the exterior preserves the Bhutanese Revival architecture that made the campus famous across the globe.
Why can’t UTEP use state funds to pay for a new Student Union West?
The SGA wrote:
Texas legislature prohibits state dollars from supporting campus auxiliary functions like the Union West.
While it is true that Texas law prohibits the use of “state dollars” for construction, it does not prohibit the University from using local funds under its control, such as auxiliary income streams, federal grants, and private gifts in addition to student fees to build or renovate student union buildings.
For example, look at how the athletic program is funded. Texas law also prohibits the use of state dollars to fund the program. However, in addition to student fees, millions of dollars flow into the program from other sources. This year alone, a multi-million dollar gift paid for locker room upgrades.
Let’s use history as a more pertinent example. A combination of sources funded the original 1949 Student Union Building. Most of the project’s costs were paid from the university’s local funds and private contributions from alumni. Students paid only 25% of the project’s total cost out of a student union building fee, which was retired several years after the building was paid for.
Alumni donations were instrumental in building UT Austin’s Texas Union. UT Austin students pay $33 in union fees, which are capped at $50 per semester. UTEP students are being asked to pay $150 per semester.
Will tuition or fees increase to fund the new building?
The SGA wrote:
The current student fee for the Union, which is applied to all students, is $30 per semester and $15 in the summer. The Union fee would increase incrementally over the next three years:
2025-2026: $70 per semester, $35 summer
2026-2027: $120 per semester, $60 summer
2027-2028: $150 per semester, $75 summer
UTEP students are being asked to pay fees higher than students at peer institutions located in cities with higher average household incomes.
UT Dallas students pay $100 per semester, which they approved in 2022 for a new building. The average Dallas household income is 15% higher than El Paso's. The SGA asks UTEP students to pay 50% more than UT Dallas students to build and renovate an existing building.
UT San Antonio students recently approved a $120 student union building fee. However, it is prorated based on the number of units undertaken. Forty (40) percent of UTEP students attend part-time. They are being asked to take on an unfair burden (and debt).
UTEP is not only the first top-tier Hispanic-serving institution but also, as Forbes recently pointed out in its recent rankings, has one of the lowest costs of attendance. This fee will affect the university's ranking.
How will a fee increase impact my financial aid?
The SGA wrote:
If you are a recipient of the Paydirt Promise or the TEXAS Grant, your awards would adjust automatically to cover this fee, as long as you have financial need demonstrated by your FAFSA or TASFA.
If you are not eligible for those programs but are receiving sufficient financial aid (grants, scholarships, loans or work-study), the fee would be covered. However, this may reduce your financial aid refund.
If you are not eligible for financial aid to cover all fees, you may need to make payment arrangements such as enrolling in an installment plan.
The long and short of this is this: For most students, especially part-time students, the cost of attendance is going up, period. Students are being asked to shoulder the burden of a new building that multiple stakeholders, including alumni and donors, could share in the costs.
Why can’t the current fee fund the new building?
The SGA wrote:
The current fee was approved by UTEP students in 1998 and has not been adjusted since then. In the two plus decades since the current fee’s approval, the needs of students have evolved – from the type of space that best facilitates social activity to the quality of technology students need. The current fee does not cover the cost of these needs in a new building.
This is factually incorrect. On Nov. 12 and 13, 1997, only 824 students — 5% of the student body — voted to raise the fee to $30 from $15 per student. Students had overwhelmingly rejected the fee by 20 percentage points when included as part of a general election of student government officers earlier in the year.
The $15 fee was imposed in 1988 — over thirty years ago. Since 1988, UTEP students have been paying a student union building fee comparable to that of UT Austin.
UTEP students are being asked to pay student union fees 400% higher than students at UT Austin.
Will the fee go back down once the construction is complete?
The SGA wrote:
The Union fee is used to finance the construction, operation and maintenance of all Union Services facilities; the buildings are open and operating all year long. Once implemented, the fee would remain.
A better question is this: Are students managing the existing Union Complex as best as possible with the current fee?
If passed, when would the new Student Union West be completed?
The SGA wrote:
Students can email Student Government Association at sga@utep.edu or attend any event listed on this site to raise their questions and suggestions.
The SGA's answer is evasive. The bottom line is that most students voting Yes will graduate long before the new and renovations are completed. Given the historical significance of the 1949 Student Union Building, there will be several years of delays due to legal and political objections to the project. Local advocacy groups are just getting organized to oppose the razing of a UTEP core heritage site.
How will the construction affect services in the current Union West and Union East?
The SGA wrote:
The Dean of Students Office, Student Engagement and Leadership Center, Career Services and Student Support Services Program would be relocated to other office spaces across campus. The offices, dining services, Student Health and Wellness Center and the Cinema in Union East would not be affected by the construction of a new Student Union West.
A better question is how razing Union West will affect the University's architectural, historical, and cultural heritage.
What sustainability measures will be included in the new Student Union West?
The SGA wrote:
The new facility would be designed with sustainability in mind. Sustainability initiatives that would be explored include energy efficiency, solar power, natural shading and environmentally-friend building materials.
The 1949 historic McGhee wing of the Student Union Building requires renovation. Years of deferred maintenance by university administrators have brought it to the verge of demolition by neglect.
McGhee’s Union West is part of a nine-building grouping added between 1937 through 1951. The McGhee-designed buildings tell the university's history by uniting Bhutanese Revival design with symbolic classical architectural features using carved stone. His use of symbolic carving combines mining with a classical influence. Sadly, the building’s concrete Bhutanese prayer wheels were relocated. An imaginative renovation project could reunite them.
A renovated Union West would also make a charming home for the renowned UTEP Dinner Theatre.
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This page represents the views of its author, PJ Vierra, and other concerned civic leaders wishing to preserve UTEP’s heritage.
Dr. Vierra is an alumnus of the University of Texas at El Paso, class of 2016, and worked as an instructor and speechwriter for the university.