Memorial Union Remodeling 2020

[ramster]

[phipsiGD'11]

Not the remodeling the memorial union needs, like at all.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Not the remodeling the memorial union needs, like at all.

Maybe the same point you were making but, why the #@&! would you choose "today" to depict??
If you want to do something like that, suggest scrolling ahead or back a few years. "Today" should not be the choice for depiction. jmo

[section(105)]

......hopefully the mural will be saved somewhere, some how......

[hrstrat57]

Can’t learn that the past at URI could have been better if you destroy the mural. It reflects life in 1950 on campus accurately. Art Sherman is a kind and wise man.

How bout somebody step up and paint a depiction of campus life in 2019...

This cannot be compared to statues of Confederate generals erected after 1920.

Let’s be sensible here URI.

[section(105)]

.......today’s Pamphlet has an article on the mural......Maybe some type of effort can go into saving it some way.......photos of it and then sold to raise funds for campus diversity programs.......?

[Rhodymob05]

This cancel culture is disgusting! Are they gonna take down every mural every 50 years? Stupidity.

[Taylor Swift]

This cancel culture is disgusting! Are they gonna take down every mural every 50 years? Stupidity.

I couldn't agree with you more. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I had to sign a "consent form" saying that I was born a female and still identify myself as female. This kind of stuff is where we have to draw a line, or else we are headed for a society I don't even want to deal with. AND GUESS WHAT - no one can blame millennials for this one. We all out of college

[phipsiGD'11]

I could see if they weren't keeping this because they were giving the entire Memorial Union a remodel, but if they're only redoing that one section it is odd.

[ramster]

Letter I received today from URI:

Sept. 10, 2020
Dear University of Rhode Island alumni:

We understand the affinity that many of our alumni and community members have to the murals displayed in the URI Memorial Union. We appreciate the emotional connection many have to the past as depicted in the murals showing campus life in the 1950s.

The murals commemorate student life at URI in the 1950s. They are not World War II murals and in no way do they “depict the events of World War II” as some media outlets have stated. There is not one single image or section of the murals that depict the events of World War II.

Misleading and inaccurate reporting by some media outlets of this situation has caused a great deal of concern among members of our URI community, including the University officials who have worked hard to honor our veterans and have an unwavering appreciation for their service.

In no way was the decision to alter the space in the Memorial Union connected to any disregard or insensitivity toward our veterans. We are committed to our veterans. Our Office of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs and our very active Student Veteran Organization both view this artwork as a depiction of a specific period of time and not reflective of campus and military culture today.

The Memorial Union itself, the center of student life at URI, is a war memorial, but the murals are whimsical cartoons that also show a class reunion, URI commencement, a South County beach scene, students piled into a jalopy wearing letter sweaters and a marching band.

The necessary renovation of the Memorial Union brought to light the issue of the condition of the murals. During this process, we explored options for preservation of the murals, including removal of the plaster walls on which the murals are directly painted. The construction method of the wall - plaster and lathe - does not permit removal without damage to the murals and to the walls.

The University has enlisted the assistance of Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Art History Ronald Onorato to share his expertise with regard to mural preservation, with the goal of incorporating the work of the artist, Dr. Arthur Sherman. As Professor Onorato notes: Most importantly, we should strive, as an educational institution not toward removing history but moving toward contextualizing the mural to use the original mural as a way to open discussions about our University culture in the 1950s and how it differs from who we are now.

When we complete the renovations, we will invite the Sherman family to the ceremonies to thank them for their contributions to the University. The University will announce plans on how it will proceed by the end of September.

We are a community that values equity and diversity, and we will work to ensure that our students, alumni and community members of all backgrounds feel welcome and included.

[SGreenwell]

Listen, I suppose I'll be the bad guy here and just say it - Regardless of the political implications here, I'm fine if they remove it because it just looks bad. It looks like a mural that should be hanging up in the club from Caddyshack, not in the Memorial Union.

[spookydog]

I guess i am in the minority here regarding this, but in my opinion I am ok with the change. It has been on display for 50+ years and commissioning something new there is ok with me. I am sure when this first was created no one thought this was going to stay up there forever. Do I think they should try to preserve it if possible & keep it, absolutely. But I don't think this has anything to do with the "cancel culture" or the taking down confederate statues. I just think they are looking for something newer. I just don't see this as a bad thing. My 2¢

[Ramulous]

I propose taking a professional photo of the murals.......creating a tapestry with these photos.....and then displaying them on a rotating basis somewhere in the Memorial Union to show what life may have looked like in the history of the University

No need to try to preserve them or move them intact.....and all the environmental problems that could generate.....and we preserve the history

[NYGFan_Section208]

I guess i am in the minority here regarding this, but in my opinion I am ok with the change. It has been on display for 50+ years and commissioning something new there is ok with me. I am sure when this first was created no one thought this was going to stay up there forever. Do I think they should try to preserve it if possible & keep it, absolutely. But I don't think this has anything to do with the "cancel culture" or the taking down confederate statues. I just think they are looking for something newer. I just don't see this as a bad thing. My 2¢

Agree. Will stun many here it seems, but not everything has to be political...sometimes things are just practical.

[ramster]

I guess i am in the minority here regarding this, but in my opinion I am ok with the change. It has been on display for 50+ years and commissioning something new there is ok with me. I am sure when this first was created no one thought this was going to stay up there forever. Do I think they should try to preserve it if possible & keep it, absolutely. But I don't think this has anything to do with the "cancel culture" or the taking down confederate statues. I just think they are looking for something newer. I just don't see this as a bad thing. My 2¢

Agree. Will stun many here it seems, but not everything has to be political...sometimes things are just practical.

I’m stunned.

[Rhodymob05]

If the university said they wanted to update it without mentioning social or political issues that’s one thing but that’s not the case. It has nothing to do with how it was painted as this would happen even if Leonardo Da Vinci painted it. Unfortunately the reason it’s removal is being considered Is specific to politics. Apparently some students were “uncomfortable” around it. Blows my mind.

[section(105)]

.......Alumni Association is looking into ways to preserve the mural, photo it, or other ways to keep it alive, recognizing that being included in the Union reno is most likely not happening......

[RhowdyRam02]

I could see if they weren't keeping this because they were giving the entire Memorial Union a remodel, but if they're only redoing that one section it is odd.

They were slated to do a $62.5 million renovation of the Memorial Union this year and next. Frankly I thought that would have been off the table with current finances, so it's nice to see this project moving forward. This isn't cancel culture or any other ridiculous buzzword, this is the University doing a massive overhaul of one of the most important buildings on campus that has been in the planning stages for years

[RhowdyRam02]

From the capital budget:

"Memorial Union Renovation & Addition

The Governor recommends a total of $62.5 million in financing, including $51.5 million in RI Health and Education Building Corporation (RIHEBC) bond funding and $11.0 million in university funds, for the renovation of Memorial Union at the University of Rhode Island in FY 2020 and FY 2021. The building, constructed in 1953, is in need of renovations to bring it to code and meet the needs of the current student body. The proposed project creates flexible space and improves the infrastructure of the building and includes a 9,000-square-foot addition."

I can't say I understand why a project like this can go forward without voter approval but other projects need to go to the voters. I think the 9,000 square foot addition might be why the mural came up for removal. If I remember correctly the mural is in the bottom level when you first come in from the dorms, which is one of the few places the Union can be expanded

[phipsiGD'11]

Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated.

[hrstrat57]

70’s era students remember the space as the location of the infamous pup...

[Rhody74]

70’s era students remember the space as the location of the infamous pup...

The Pub was popular when the drinking age was 18. I drank a lot of beer there.

[section(105)]

.......the Pub, in its day, was great concept......I forget and moved out of the area, how long did it last, was it killed by Carothers?

[BleedBlue87]

This whole thing has been overblown. The painting was suppose to represent life at URI in the 1950s. I think the student body back then was around 2000 people. Things are different now. I know they are looking at preserving it in someway but we don't have to keep everything for the sake of keeping something. The Memorial Union certainly needs to be freshened up to meet the needs and reflect the population that URI now serves.

[Rhody74]

Sanity prevails. The murals will stay.
Check out this article from The Providence Journal:

URI to save 1950s-era Memorial Union murals, while adding context

https://www.providencejournal.com/story ... 816621002/

[theblueram]

I was going to post as well as I got an email from URI on this. Glad sanity prevailed and history is preserved. Just because it doesn't reflect what current students are experiencing doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[Rhodymob05]

Amen to the decision to keep the mural.

[Maine66]

A lot of older alumni raised some serious hell on this issue. Art Sherman was my coach and has been a life long friend. Too nice a person to have to deal with that crap at his advanced age. He did find out in this whole process that he had a lot of friends.

[Maine66]

Very sad to report that Art Sherman passed away on August 28 at the age of 96. He was a native son of Rhode Island and a World War II severely wounded combat veteran. After the war he went to URI on the GI Bill. Under the coaching of Fred Tootell he became an All American pole vaulter. He also painted the murals at the then new Memorial Union.He later served his alma mater as both a coach and professor of physical education. Along the way he picked up Masters and Doctorate degrees. Most of all he was a class act true good guy.

John Gonsalves "64 and a URI HOF pole vaulter and I became close friends with Art over the past 15 years or so. We always took him to lunch when we came down to campus for the annual September PHI Mu golf outing. We're going to miss him.

[RhowdyRam02]

The Memorial Union expansion and renovation will start next summer