After a quiet 18 months, the Compton Union Building is ready for students this fall.
The building, a campus hub that serves nearly 10,000 people every day in a typical year, remained open throughout the pandemic. But with few people on campus, services and activity were limited.
Now, CUB staff are preparing for a busy in-person semester with several changes designed to make this central campus location an even better place to meet, eat, hang out, and engage in Coug life.
New spaces and services
The changes to the CUB involve projects of all sizes, from small improvements like swapping out fluorescent lights on the main floor for LEDs to major initiatives like welcoming new vendors.
“The pandemic has given us the opportunity to rethink and reconfigure our public spaces,” said Spencer Desmarais, the CUB assistant director of event services and operations. “Some of our spaces, like the Lair and the food court, will look different, but our core services will be in place, as they have been throughout the pandemic.”
As part of that reconfiguring, the CUB is welcoming three new tenants – Cougar Country, Cougar Food Pantry, and GESA Credit Union – as well as adding seating throughout the building, particularly in the Lair on the first floor. The CUB is also adding three “presentation pods” – spaces equipped with whiteboards, monitors, and laptop hookups where students can practice group presentations.
In addition, Butch’s Den on the lower level is transitioning to a “self-service space” that won’t require support from CUB A/V staff, Desmarais said, making it a more affordable event and meeting space for campus groups. CUB staff are also working on plans to keep event venues open to create more spaces for students to study and hang out.
CUB Director Karee Shaw said these changes are important to keeping the building a hub on campus.
“We’re the connection point on campus, and it’s important to keep our spaces engaging and accessible,” she said.
A second home
CUB custodian Leila Ruiz can add those improvements to the long list of changes she’s seen in over 40 years of working at the CUB.
“The CUB is always different, so it’s great because you don’t get bored,” said Ruiz, who is retiring in August. “It’s really a great place – it’s my second home.”
Ruiz began her career at the CUB as part of the housekeeping staff for the hotel that used to occupy the fourth floor. She said the space was especially popular with alumni on football game weekends.
“It was a tailgate party on the fourth floor,” she said. “Then and now, the building is electric during games.”
Ruiz has seen other facilities come and go during her time in the building. At various times in the past 40 years, the CUB has had its own bakery – Ruiz’s mother was the baker, and Ruiz still remembers the daily fresh cinnamon rolls and doughnuts – hair salon, post office, bowling alley, deli, florist, and game room. Although those spaces are gone, Ruiz said the central feature of the building has remained constant: the students.
“The thing I’ll miss most is the students,” she said. “They’re like my kids. The students are the reason I stayed here for 40 years.”
Coming back to the CUB
CUB services are beginning to ramp up and students are slowly starting to return to their favorite spaces, Shaw said – a positive sign that start of the semester is near.
“I’m looking forward to the building being busy again,” she said. “I know students miss the little things, like getting tots from Carlita’s and connecting over coffee from the Bookie. It’s exciting seeing them coming back to these spaces.”
For more information on vendors, spaces, and hours, visit the CUB website.
