The University of Wisconsin-Madison student government is asking for the new location for a planned Amazon pickup point in the Red Gym to be moved. Late last month, the UW System Board of Regents approved an agreement allowing students to have items shipped to the pickup point instead of their apartments.
Carmen Goséy, Associated Students of Madison chair, said the regents should have included students’ feedback, noting the Red Gym is a hub for campus diversity, not retail.
“In unison with the shared governance groups, this did not go through the shared governance process,” Goséy said. “Yet, it does affect students and the student groups that currently do exist within the Red Gym.”
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The pickup point in the Red Gym would change the building’s dynamic, Goséy added.
“The Red Gym, and particularly the second floor (Multicultural Student Center), is a safe place for students,” Goséy said. “So for me, to put Amazon in there, it does not go in with the mission of the Red Gym in trying to create a student inclusivity space.”
UW-Madison Vice Chancellor Laurent Heller said in a statement they made a mistake in not consulting with other groups and they are working to correct it.
Heller said they are revisiting earlier efforts to find the best location.
Heller also said in the statement they are trying to balance adding the pickup point with plans to add a Black Culture Center in the gym. He said the pickup point is expected to generate at least $100,000 a year for the university.
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