Student Union staff emptied the arcade room of gaming machines to use as a temporary workspace.

According to an email university spokesperson Joshua Glanzer sent to the UP, tenants from the second floor will occupy the room while construction happens on the second-floor offices.

“The timing of this renovation is set for some time in April 2022 through an estimated early August 2022,” Glanzer said.

A previous story reported that the staff removed five machines due to “decreased volume and usage.” It is currently unknown if the arcade is returning.

Students shared their feelings about the total removal of the machines and suggested ways the empty space can be used.

FAU graduate and former Station Manager of Owl Radio Hannah Schimko believes FAU lost sight of catering to a market of students who enjoy nightlife and found the addition of the arcade questionable.

“There is a blurred area between commuters and people that live on campus,” she said, “I didn’t live on campus for the last two years. I went to FAU and found nothing to do past a certain time.”

Schimko proposed the idea of the space being used as a lounge area functionally similar to the Burrow, the former Student Union bar that hosted many events such as karaoke nights and trivia.

“It would be more enticing to stay on campus later – even if you were a commuter,” she says.

Jose Baez, a freshman film and new media major, felt there was no place for the arcade.

“No one was ever really in there, and if there was someone in there, they were usually just playing air hockey,” he says.

Baez suggested that the space could be used as a classroom or a place for clubs to rent out.

Glanzer says that future use of the space will be determined once all the work is complete.

Tajh Deneus is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].