Officials from the Wisconsin Union say they will continue the push for renovation of UW-Madison's two unions despite the defeat of a crucial referendum last week.
The referendum, which would have had increased UW-Madison student segregated fees to help fund the renovations, failed by a vote of 2,385 to 2,200, according to the Associated Students of Madison website.
Ken Gibson, associate director of the Wisconsin Union, said he was disappointed by the outcome of the referendum, but said the union's leadership team will continue to explore options for renovation.
\We hoped that the students would have approved the referendum because the plans we had for renovating the Memorial Union and Union South are really critical to the long-term vitality of our organization,"" he said.
UW-Madison junior Ben Hawke, who serves as the vice-president of the Wisconsin Union Directorate, said he felt students were less apt to vote in favor of the referendum due to a lack of information regarding renovation plans, not an aversion to seeing the unions renovated.
""A lot of the reactions ... that we had gotten talked about the fact that we didn't alert the students well enough about this, so people weren't comfortable voting yes,"" he said.
Wisconsin Union Assistant Director Margaret Tennessen said the leadership of the union will continue to work with students in an effort to increase understanding and support for the union renovations.
""We're sorry that we didn't have enough time to get out and answer everyone's questions, but we were encouraged by how close the vote was,"" she said. ""I think it certainly just points out to us that we need to redouble our efforts to work with students so that they understand the issues better.""
Hawke detailed his ideas on getting more students involved in the renovation process, including showing them floor plans and discussing how much they are willing to support the project financially.
""We obviously need to connect with [students] and hear what their questions and concerns were,"" Tennessen said. ""We hope to spend the next months moving forward, working with them and hopefully being able to address their questions.""
Tennessen said there is a ""good possibility"" a similar referendum will appear next year and all three representatives stressed their desire for student backing on the renovations.
""Our goal is if this money is taken from students [to fund the renovations], we want the students to support it,"" Hawke said.
