When Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Administration Philip Scheurer announced, in July 1996, that the popular Cherokee Lounge, just off the main lobby of the university center, would become an expanded retail computer store operated by the UT Book and Supply Store (renamed VolShop in 2013), part-time student Melinda Foster voiced the concerns of many students by complaining that the pleasant places for students to gather were increasingly disappearing to make room for retail operations. She and others initiated a petition drive that grew to more than two hundred signatures. Two smaller student lounges were created on the second floor of the university center, but those wishing to retain the Cherokee Lounge criticized them as being inferior and lacking views. The fact that one opened onto a plaza was seen as not a valuable addition. Students complained that students had not been allowed input. Scheurer responded that the administration had talked with student government leaders. The new computer store opened for the fall term.