Save the SUB?

I can't say I'm a huge fan the UVSS*'s choice of title for its referendum campaign. Save the SUB? To be clear: we are not going to lose the SUB if you vote against the UVSS's referendums.

The campaign is however accurate in it's description that follows the "Save the SUB" title:

"The Student Union Building as you know it is under threat.

Due to a lack of proper funding, the UVSS is facing a serious financial crisis.  If this crisis isn’t dealt with this year, the UVSS as you know it will be radically altered or possibly even cease to exist."

This description bring up some interesting thoughts. Is the status quo of the SUB really all that great or something we necessarily want to save? Is radically altering the UVSS a bad thing?

The reason I bring up these thoughts is one simple reality: The UVSS and SUB are stuck in 1996.

Someone who graduated from UVic over a decade ago can walk into the SUB today and see a very similar scene from when they were a student. Many of the same businesses. The same structure of the SUB. The same structure of the UVSS. In a lot of ways the SUB is stagnant.

The reality is, no one really wants to undertake a major restructuring of the SUB because it's a messy thing to do. It also involves asking and answering a lot of hard questions. For example, what services does the SUB need to offer? Which ones can go? Most managers and board members really don't want to have to be the ones to make these calls.

If the referendums next week don't pass, the UVSS will be effectively mandated to make those hard decisions.

*Note: The UVSS claims it is not behind the 'Save the SUB campaign'. This appears to be true.