The George Sherman Union (GSU) is the

student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social ...

building at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

and

Boston University Academy Boston University Academy (BUA) is a private high school operated by Boston University. Founded in 1993 and located on the Boston University campus, the academy is geared toward college preparatory work. As part of its integration with the unive ...

. The

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

-styled building opened in Spring 1963. When it opened, the Union had a 10-lane bowling alley in its basement. The building is named for the Boston industrialist, philanthropist, and Boston University benefactor. The Union was modeled after similar student centers in Midwestern universities. Inside are many of Boston University's administrative offices, a nine-restaurant food court, two bank branches, several auditoriums and other open space, as well as the BU Scarlet Safewalk service. The GSU abuts

Mugar Memorial Library The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...

, the school's main library. Students come to the GSU to organize events, gather and exchange information, and meet people. It provides an atmosphere for study and conversation. As the community center of Boston University, it provides

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

, social, and recreational programs that supplement regular classroom education. The facilities of the George Sherman Union are reserved for the exclusive use of students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Boston University. The GSU was one of many buildings benefitting from renovations during the summer of 2010. The Union Hall food court and study lounges were later renovated again, completing in August 2020. The East Campus Boiler Plant, which heats and cools the GSU was converted from oil to natural gas, reducing the University's

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

by 3%. More wireless access points were added, as well as

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...

and recycling receptacles to encourage the university's dedication to become more green.

References

External links

GSU Web site
Buildings at Boston University Student activity centers in the United States Brutalist architecture in Massachusetts {{Boston-struct-stub