Associated Students will expand its offices this Spring Quarter into what will become “The Annex” – also known as Building 434.

The transfer follows an expansion bill passed unanimously by the Legislative Council on Feb. 27, which allocated the space in Building 434, the former Women’s Center building, to A.S. entities.

According to A.S. President Stephanie Brower, A.S. received a letter from Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas on May 25, 2007 informing the organization that the space was allotted to them. However, A.S. was only granted a small portion of the space the organization requested, which is also allocated for displaced departments whose buildings are undergoing renovation.

A.S. aims to occupy the building in April, Brower said, and the bill passed assigned the space to certain groups like the Student Initiated Outreach Program, Commission on Disability Access, The Bottom Line and a new KCSB media center. According to Brower, deciding who received space in Building 434 came down to the most persistent.

“First, we had to renovate and then decide who has access,” Brower said. “It ended up being the people who pushed the hardest.”

Brower said the relocation of A.S. organizations was long overdue, and the move to Building 434 is just the beginning.

Throughout last year, A.S. members met with Lucas and other campus administrators to discuss A.S. expansion plans. After the Student Resource Building opened and occupants of Building 434 moved, A.S. representatives proposed plans to occupy the space.

“We were given space after a long, drawn-out fight last year,” Brower said. “The campus assessed how much space [A.S.] needed and only gave us about a third of what we wanted. Right now, there are three to four boards and committees in one office. The CODA office is currently on the second story of the office, which is ridiculous.”

Additionally, Brower said A.S. is in discussions to acquire space on the third floor of the UCen.

Student Initiated Outreach representative Tuyen Nguyen said the expansion of A.S. over past years prompted the request for more office room.

“A.S., as well as students for Student Initiated Outreach, asked our administrators for space to accommodate our growing organizations,” Nguyen said. “We had seen that there was open space in the old Women’s Center, so we submitted a proposal and set up meetings with the administration to decide on square footage.”