Some registered student organizations (RSOs) have expressed disappointment with the prospect of a redesigned HUB, which is set to begin in the spring of 2010.

“RSOs are getting precisely what we don’t want,” said Andrew Cheung, a member of the UW Sailing Club.

There are 49 RSOs (of more than 700) that utilize 27 offices located in the HUB sub-basement. Organizations such as the sailing club use the offices for holding meetings and storing files, among other uses.

The remodeled HUB plans to turn these offices into eight “hoteling” offices and 150 storage lockers.

Student organizations can check out an office space for a period of time, like guests at a hotel, said Paul Zuchowski, associate director of student activities.

“The offices will be modular spaces,” Zuchowski said. “Student organizations can come in at their own leisure.”

Cheung and other members of RSOs were disappointed at what Zuchowski stressed as being a benefit of the hoteling offices: their impermanence.

“Changing to a hoteling office model will cripple the ability of many clubs to operate,” Cheung said.

Currently, the sailing club uses permanent file cabinets to store paperwork and the Film Appreciation Club uses its office to show movies. These organizations, among others, have expressed how difficult it will be to conduct business in the hoteling offices.

“The biggest thing is that students were never given the chance to give feedback,” said Maddie Yacoe, a member of Husky Winter Sports.

But student constituencies were consulted, Zuchowski said, and invited last spring to join focus groups and give input to architectural firm Perkins and Will, the firm in charge of the redesign.

“The message we heard was that while space was provided to some RSOs, there should be space that more can utilize,” he said. “We are trying to serve all RSOs, not just a small segment of the population.”

Hoteling offices will be located on the first floor of the new HUB as a direct response to RSO needs, ASUW vice president Sam Al-Khoury said. Student groups wanted to move out of the sub-basement and have easier access to the HUB lawn, he said.

Ck Okoro, a member of the student advisory committee, thinks that a creative solution can be found to meet the needs of all RSOs.

“It is all about balancing needs,” Okoro said.

The current plan does a disservice to more active student groups on campus, and there is not enough locker space in the HUB plan to counteract the loss of office space, Okoro said.

Okoro suggested making the lockers larger to store the sailing club’s files or something awkwardly shaped, like the film club’s TV.

“At some point, you need to make decisions,” Zuchowksi said. “There will be people who are happy and some who aren’t happy.”