The First Co-Ed Ohio Union (1951-2007)
The first co-ed Ohio Union was built in 1951. Before any of this happened thought, the students of The Ohio State University came together and petitioned for a new union that allowed for the men women own equal rights and visits to the union. The students felt very strongly that they should have equal rights, so much that they even agreed to contribute to the costs of making a new union. Construction of the new union went underway in June 1949 and it was completed two years later in 1951. The new Ohio Union housed a dining room, two ballrooms, a browsing library, music lounge, pool tables, a 16-lane bowling alley and nineteen offices used for various student organizations. As the decades past the Union made sure to adjust to the needs to the students accordingly. In the 1960s and 70s during the Vietnam War the Union strived to be of a service to students that were going through an era of protest and warfare. In 1985, as technology was becoming more advanced, and the creation of the computer evolved, a micro-computer lab was made in the union to help students with various research and studies. As time past, not only did technology advance, but so did the modern standards of living. By the late 1980s the union began to lose it's charisma to students and a study done in 1986 found that about ten million would need to be added by 1994 to fix the plumbing, roofing and heating system in the union. In 1994 there were plans to renovate the union, but those plans were shot down in 1996 but the Student council who did not approve of a new union to be built. Rebecca Park, director at the time, promised to fully satisfy the needs of the students, by the Union Mission by giving the best recreational activities she could. She also decorated the union with a scarlet and grey theme, the school's colors. Even with the changes though, the union still was outdated. In the 2003 and 2004 school year, a proposition to build a new union was brought up again, and the three student governments at Ohio State agreed to campaign a rally to start the construction of a new building. To help with the student's campaign, Union staff went to different residence halls and also to any other students who were interested in learning about a new Ohio Union by putting on a 'road-show' exhibit. Finally, in June 2004 all the campaigning was successful and the Board of Trustees agreed with the plans to tear down the old Union and start the construction of a new one. The first co-ed Union that was built in 1951 was tore down in 2006 and just one month later the construction of the new Union started.
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