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| Happy Birthday, HUB! Campus Celebrates Student Union's 50th Year in Service
By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer If you live long enough, you'll celebrate plenty of birthdays - your own, your spouse's, your parent's, or your child's, among others. If you spend enough time on the University Park campus at Penn State, you'll have occasion to visit, pass through, or spend time in the Hetzel Union Building, now known as the HUB-Robeson Center, or HUB for short. Combining the popularity of a birthday celebration and the 50th anniversary of the venerable HUB, Student Affairs held what amounted to a 50th birthday party for the HUB on March 15. It was quite a celebration. Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, Vice President for Student Affairs Vicky Triponey, and Director of Unions and Student Activities Stanley Latta kicked off a weeklong observation, commencing with a noontime celebration in the ground floor eateries. But more on that later. Building anniversary dates usually come and go with little or no fanfare. So, why regale campus on the exact date in 1955 when the HUB originally opened its doors to the Penn State community? "Dr. Latta mentioned that this was the 50th anniversary of the HUB and wanted to recognize a milestone such as this, especially since we are in the 150th anniversary of the University," explained Galen Chelko, a HUB 50th committee member. It seemed only fitting to recognize the importance of one of the campus's busiest buildings. Chelko said traffic through the HUB, "has reached into the tens of thousands per day. And, of course that number multiplies quite quickly on big event days." The HUB 50th celebration was one of those "big event days." Dr. Latta and Dave Gingher, assistant director of food services accepted the ideas and suggestions of the committee - Carol Brooks, Ann Shields, Carol Reilly, Cindy Kephart, Erin Grenoble, Deb Dworsky, Jean Welling, Jon Leslie, Kathy Moore, Stephanie Gush and Galen Chelko. Meeting bi-weekly starting in October, then weekly starting in January, the committee formulated an impressive array of events. The cornerstone of those events was arguably a ceremony featuring a four-foot by six-foot cake with a tiered cake sitting on top, as well as a replica of the front of the HUB. "From the reactions of the students during the cake celebration, it was well received," Chelko said. "We had students who watched us with the set-up starting around 9 a.m. on the 15 th and then kept coming back and forth between classes to watch the progress. Everyone was quite impressed by the cake we had on display. Along with the showcase cake, we had 14 full-size sheet cakes that we served. The cake was designed by Lee Ann Adams of the Penn State Bakery." But that was just the beginning. Activities included:
"The cake celebration was enjoyed by all - students mostly, faculty and staff, as well as a few of the former directors of the HUB. We even had a graduate from the class of 1954. He was thrilled to see the celebration and be able to be a part of the festivities," Chelko said. "The LateNight event included mostly students. All of the entertainment for the events featured Penn State students and student organizations such as The Singing Lions, The Dreamers, The Indoor Drumline, and PennHarmonics and the Swing Dance Club." Thousands of students undoubtedly made their way through the HUB during the week-long celebration. A specific number of students was nearly impossible to tabulate. "We didn't do a count, but I can tell you that we served over 2,300 pieces of cake on Tuesday the 15'th, and throughout the course of the LateNight event we had a few hundred people and served over 600 root beer floats. Twelve gallons of ice cream and 48 two-liter bottles of root beer were used," Chelko said. Everyone involved in the celebration seemed thrilled with the week's festivities, especially the committee members. "It was a fun week of activities - lots of work but definitely worth it," Chelko said. "We were very pleased!"
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Updated April 18, 2005