The Student Union soon may be getting a facelift, as Student Affairs Vice President Shawn Brooks has proposed an idea called “location identity” in an attempt to brand the building.

Over the summer, Brooks said he visited Ohio State University’s Student Union, which had block O’s in floor tiles and a scarlet-and-gray color scheme in the floor enhancing school pride.

Brooks said that the aim of a rebranding would to be to try to imitate Ohio State’s union.

Pitt-Johnstown’s union already has aspects  that contribute to this idea, from the yellow-and-blue color scheme to paw prints in the windows of the Brioche Doree Café.

Brooks said that he has some ideas about how to rebrand Pitt-Johnstown’s union: replacing some of the plain floor tiles with paw prints and using some of the blank spaces on the walls for Pitt-Johnstown insignias.

Brooks proposed that, along the long wall across from the Mt. Cat Club and leading into the cafeteria, that students could make their own 4- or 5-foot-long murals, and when, combined, they would cover the wall all the way to the cafeteria.

Brooks said that the price for his rebrand would be a couple thousand dollars. He also proposed renaming the Cambria Room to the Pitt-Johnstown Cambria Room.

“I only want to spend around two to three thousand dollars,” he said.

The money to brand the union would come out of the Student Affairs budget and a discretionary funds, according to Brooks.

The discretionary funds are leftover money allocated to clubs that members did not use during the previous year, according to Brooks.

“There’s usually a few thousand (in that budget),” he said.

Ohio State’s Student Union also has scarlet banners on either side of the halls, all stating “Ohio Union” in white. The brick building also has decorative block O’s engraved on the benches by the building.   

Students are to be given the opportunity for opinions and ideas for the union.

Brooks said he wants meetings to occur once every other week for six weeks.

He said he plans to put together a task force of any student who has ideas for the union.

Student government executive board member Sam Miller and Sen. Becky Stefanyak said they have ideas as well.

Stefanyak said a new name for the Tuck Shop would be good.

She said that the Tuck Shop has no relevance as a name to Pitt-Johnstown,.

Stefanyak also said that a name change should be a schoolwide vote to make the branding feel more personal.

Miller said that the branding should be a campuswide effort.

“(A campuswide effort) could be accomplished through a studentwide poll,” Miller said.

Brooks said that branding the union would hopefully increase school spirit and identity.

Justin Schmithorst

contributed to this

article.