For some of us, this is the place you go to when a smaller band you’re hooked on rolls into town and the Concert Talent Buyer just so happened to book them. For some of us, it’s the place where we throw out all of our one-liners and hilarious stories and hope the audience thinks we are as funny as we think we are. For a small few, it’s the place that puts on niche events for TV shows, movies, or books that we are slightly too obsessed with. For some of us, it’s the place we stumbled in once freshman year for the awkward Orientation dance party only to never see it again.

For me, it’s home.

Club Downunder and all the people in it has become a part of who I am. It has been the best part of my college experience. It has shaped me into the person I am today. And with all this talk of a new union, I fear for its very existence and for the students who will inevitably come after me. Will they get to go to a venue that boasts a history richer than almost any other on-campus venue in the nation? Will students still get to brag about an almost entirely student run concert venue that was ranked #85 among the greatest American music venues? Will it still be around to change lives, like it did mine?

I know for many people CDU is seen as the place where all the “hipsters” go to enjoy music but it is, and always will be, so much more than that. It’s the place where people from every walk of life, background, gender expression, race, and religion can come together and feel—well—safe. It’s the place where the only thing that matters is the music that swirls around you. A place where every border that defines who we are is both celebrated and ignored.

I have grown so much amidst the purple walls, lava (and Shrek) lamps, and weird band stickers that line the imposing black polls that have seen more acts than I can imagine. Every time I walk into that venue, I marvel at all of the musical and comedic history at my fingertips. From Steve Martin, to The White Stripes, to The Goo Goo Dolls, to Zach Galifianakis, to Yellowcard, to The National (who actually wrote apart of their song on our piano), to Elle King. CDU continues to bring bands that go on to make history. We have real, talented artists trek across our beautiful campus, mic check while we are in class, and make history in our presence every night. It has been nothing less than an honor to work in such a place—a place that offers these experiences to students for free, no less.

While it took a very long time for Club Downunder to become what it is today, originally starting underground and transforming from a coffee shop to a Rally’s to a bookstore, it unlikely history adds to its charm. A charm that drew me to not only work there but to spend my free time watching artists carve their stories into our walls. So, naturally, I worry that FSU won’t see CDU the way I do. They won’t see how it has changed not only my college experience but how it has changed the experiences of countless other students who may not have found solace anywhere else on campus. This is the place for students who want something different—something more. This is the place where people’s creativity and art come to life. This is the place where we come together under a similar pretense—a love for a certain marriage of sound. This is the place where relationships are formed and strengthen.