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Show CL C/) < o The Union gets a new Left Wing The Union Building has changed shape, changed style; it has cleaned out its attic, so to speak, and discovered hidden potential up there. The West wing addition was three years in planning, two in construction. Five years is average gestation time for an idea such as this one. Doug Black, Chairman of the Union Board at the time, received the bid in the Spring of '68, but thelowbidder exceeded his time limit, a typical thing-the carpenter's strike didn't make that much difference-and the new addition wasn't opened until February 16, 1970. Contractors, construction workers, glaziers, day-glo hard hats and an inordinate amount of NOISE. Halls closed off, splotched plywood barriers where no walls of any kind should be. What for, exactly? Just what is all this really FOR? The only thing that's the same about the Panorama Room is the Panorama. It was treated for those terrible acoustics (ever been trapped in an echo, voices hitting air like bricks smashing water, ripples spreading out to lap every corner?), and redecorated. It provides a better place than ever for noon luncheon conferences or banquets. An all-new Panorama East looks out over North campus and some splendid brown hills. It can be used for receptions and other events. The plans use space well. There is a lecture hall and a special banquet hall, and, at long last, a junior Ballroom. Groups of less than 500 will now have a place to meet, without being stranded at a meeting surrounded by a hundred miles of vacant floor. There is a new alumni lounge, a television lounge that features single-control multiple sets so that there will be ample viewing for programs with a high interest quotient, and the new Minorities Library which comfortably houses a rapidly growing collection of relevant material not available in the Marriot Library. 273 |