The HUB–Robeson Center, commonly referred to as the "HUB" is the student union building centrally located on the University Park

University Park

The term University Park may refer to:In the United States*University Park, Los Angeles, California, home of the University of Southern California*University Park, Florida, in Miami-Dade County, home of Florida International University...

 campus of Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

. It was originally built in 1953 and had major renovations done in 1973 and 1983. The most recent round of expansions and renovations was begun in May 1997, adding 91000 square feet (8,454.2 m²) to the existing 154000 square feet (14,307.1 m²) building. The building was originally named the Hetzel Union Building for Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

-era President of Penn State Ralph Dorn Hetzel

Ralph Dorn Hetzel

Ralph Dorn Hetzel was the tenth president of the Pennsylvania State University, serving from 1927 until 1947...

.

Eateries

On the ground floor is "Union Street", a collection of eateries that provide an alternative to the on-campus dining halls. There is also a set of aquariums (donated by the Class of 1999) and a pool hall/arcade ("The Corner Pocket") on the ground floor. Next to the aquarium is the home of The Lion 90.7FM, Penn State's only student-run radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

, which moved to the HUB on April 24, 2003. On the upper floors are lounges, dedicated study spaces, an auditorium, and the HUB-Robeson Galleries; in addition, many of Penn State's student-run groups have offices on the upper floors, such as UPAC, NRT, and the Penn State Thespians

Penn State Thespians

The Penn State Thespians is a student-run theatrical organization that operates at the Pennsylvania State University. The main goal of the organization is "to present theatrical entertainment and to provide the students of the Pennsylvania State University with educational experience in all phases...

. The HUB is directly connected to the on-campus Penn State Bookstore (run by Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...

) as well as the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

The following eateries can be found in the HUB:

• The Wild Cactus (originally Casa Ortega until September, 2007)
• Chat's (cafe)
• Chick-fil-A
  Chick-fil-A
  Chick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...
  
  
• Higher Ground (coffee shop)
• Joegies (a sandwich/sub restaurant named in honor of Joe Paterno
  Joe Paterno
  Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
  
  )
• Mixed Greens
• Panda Express
  Panda Express
  Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain serving American Chinese cuisine. It operates mainly inside the United States, in casinos, shopping malls, supermarkets, airports, train stations, strip plazas, theme parks, stadiums, college campuses and The Pentagon...
  
  
• Piccalilli's
• Sbarro
  Sbarro
  Sbarro is a bankrupt chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in traditional Italian cuisine, including its most popular menu item "pizza by the slice." Its headquarters is located in Melville, Huntington, New York.- History :...
  
  
• Seattle's Best Coffee
  Seattle's Best Coffee
  Seattle's Best Coffee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks, is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington.Seattle's Best Coffee has retail stores and grocery sub-stores in 20 states and provinces and the District of Columbia. Sub-stores can also be found within many...
  
  

The Union St. Grill (aka Union Street Burger Company) was closed on November 19 and replaced in January 2007 by:

• Nathan's Famous
  Nathan's Famous
  Nathan's Famous is a company that operates a chain of U.S.-based fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-History:Nathan's began as...
  
  
• Arthur Treacher's
  Arthur Treacher's
  Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips is a fast food seafood restaurant chain., there were 45 stores in 8 northern states of the United States which serve fish and chips. Its main competitors are Long John Silver's and Captain D's...
  
  
• Kenny Rogers Roasters
  Kenny Rogers Roasters
  Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chicken restaurant that was founded by country musician Kenny Rogers and former Kentucky governor John Y. Brown, Jr., who had also owned Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. The menu was originally centered on wood-fired rotisserie chicken. After closing almost all...
  
   (Only open on weekends to avoid competing with Chick-fil-A)
• Burger King
  Burger King
  Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
  
   (Opening January 2012 - replacing Nathan's Famous and Arthur Treacher's.)

The lawn in front of the HUB, commonly called the "HUB Lawn" features a gazebo

Gazebo

A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...

 and is popular with students playing frisbee

Frisbee

A flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....

 and sunbathing. The lawn is also home to Penn State's annual free concert, Movin' On. A portion of the lawn is currently inaccessible and filled with construction equipment accompanying the construction of the nearby Biobehavioral Health building due to be completed in May 2012.

1996 Shooting

The lawn was the site of the 1996 shooting

Hetzel Union Building shooting

The Hetzel Union Building shooting refers to an incident at the Pennsylvania State University where two students were shot, one fatally. At the time of the incident, it was the first murder on the Penn State campus in over 25 years.- The incident :...

 that resulted in the death of Melanie Spalla, a 21 year-old undergraduate journalism student from Altoona. The perpetrator of the shooting, Jillian Robbins, was a 19 year-old non-student resident of State College. At approximately 9:30 AM on September 17, Robbins was positioned outdoors at the northwest corner of the HUB Lawn, where the HUB pool room now stands. She fired five shots in the general direction of College Avenue using a 7 mm Mauser rifle. Nicholas Mensah, a 22 year-old student from Ghana, was also wounded in the shooting, but was not killed.

Of the five bullets fired, two struck victims, one was recovered at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and another on the eighth floor of Penn Tower Apartments. The fifth was found on the ground. On their paths, two of the bullets grazed two students' book bags.

At that morning hour, during the middle of a class period, there were few students on the lawn, and police managed to identify only 15 witnesses. One of these witnesses, student Brendon Malovrh, is credited with wrestling the gun away from Robbins just after she loaded a second clip. In response, she pulled out a knife and attempted to stab Malovrh. When Malovrh dodged out of the way, Robbins accidentally stabbed herself in the thigh, after which Malovrh used his belt to try to stop her bleeding. Robbins was arrested at the scene, and Mensah and Robbins were taken to Centre Community Hospital for treatment following the shooting.

Following her arrest, Robbins spent six months in Norristown State Hospital, an in-patient psychiatric hospital that treats both voluntary and court-committed patients. Robbins never offered a reason for her actions, but did say that she had intended to kill herself that day. She later plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

The Village (2001)

In 2001, the HUB was the site of a 9-day student sit-in demonstration called "The Village". The Village began as a community response to death threats received by African American students at the University. In support of better diversity programs at Penn State, more than forty student groups participated along with many other students and community members.

Occupy Penn State (2011)

In 2011, the HUB saw another student demonstration which paralleled the Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...

 demonstrations happening concurrently. The demonstration lasted nearly 5 weeks and included many core occupants remaining in the HUB during its entire duration. During its five weeks Occupy Penn State brought student's attention to pressing issues in today's society including, but not limited to, financial inequalities, tuition, corruption, social injustice, and more. After the onset of the Jerry Sandusky Scandal and the subsequent firing of President Graham Spanier

Graham Spanier

Graham B. Spanier is an American academic, who served as the 16th president of the Pennsylvania State University from September 1, 1995, until he was forced to resign on November 9, 2011, in the aftermath of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal...

, the Occupy Penn State movement decided it was best to disband. Occupy Penn State still has members having active roles across campus and the community, however they have since vacated the HUB as a whole.