Shop24 partnership canceled
The Memorial Union (MU) Renewal Project will begin construction on March 23. This 23.5 million dollar project, which will expand and improve the MU, will also affect several areas on campus during the renovation process.
Although the north courtyard, bookstore, basement and east wing of the MU will be closed during this time, the Coffee House, several second-floor meeting rooms, the TechHub and the third and fourth floors will remain open.
Other changes due to the renovation will affect this quarter’s textbook buybacks and rental returns, which normally take place at the MU. Instead, these events will take place at the ARC, Life Sciences Building lobby and residence halls.
Since the bookstore will be closed, course materials can be bought at the Pavilion. Kato Meley, course material sales supervisor, said that despite the change in location, the full range of services will still be offered.
“We don’t believe there will be any drop-off in service or availability of titles,” Meley said.
The bookstore’s general merchandise will be sold at the MU’s east wing. The post office, which moved out of the east wing in January, will reopen in a trailer across from the MU.
The MU Renewal Project will also renovate the MU Games Area. Matt Fucile, director of Building Services for Campus Recreation and Unions, stated in an article for UC Davis’s Dateline that the arcade games and pool tables were being sold due to underutilization.
Jennifer Eting, associate director of Communications and Marketing, said that the new MU Games Area will focus more on student needs.
“The renovations, once completed, will provide a greater variety of resources to improve the overall student experience, including upgrades to the bowling alley and billiards area, a transformation from arcade games to console-based gaming and a brand new TV lounge,” Eting said.
The renewal project will also include the installation of an Amazon customer service and order-pickup counter in the MU.
Shop24, UC Davis’ recently announced partnership, will no longer be coming to campus due to Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards not meeting university requirements. This vending machine would have provided students with a place to buy food and school supplies 24/7 during the restoration. Eting says that Campus Recreation and Unions is looking into a trailer solution that will provide convenience items instead.
Current employees who work at the bookstore and other areas of the MU being reconstructed will be affected by the renewal as well. Eting says that while some UC Davis Stores student employees will be reassigned to other stores, others will be working reduced hours.
“We are working with individuals on a case by case basis,” Eting said.
The campus store will reopen in January 2016, and the rest of the Memorial Union Renewal will be finished by Fall 2016. Students can stay up to date on the renewal project’s progress through its Facebook page (“UC Davis Memorial Union Renewal”).
Graphic by Jennifer Wu.
