UW-Eau Claire student leaders are worried that an April 1 city referendum indirectly related to the Confluence Project may have direct – and unintended – consequences on future community-university partnerships. If approved, the referendum would require a separate referendum any time the city wants to spend $1 million or more “on any building construction that is planned for dramatic, musical, or artistic performances.” This would impact the proposed Confluence Project – a public-private performing arts center with an adjacent housing/commercial development – but leaders of the UWEC Student Senate believe it could impact other projects as well. In a press release, Student Senate leaders explained that UWEC students “made significant contributions” toward upgrading city facilities that students also use, namely the Carson Park football stadium in 2004 and Hobbs Ice Arena in 2008. “Carson Park, the home field of the Blugold Marching Band and site of Festival in the Pines, can certainly be considered a home to performing arts,” the Student Senate noted in a press release. “Similarly, Hobbs Ice Arena regularly hosts performances of the UW-Eau Claire Figure Skating club, a dramatic and musical pursuit.” Because a major project to improve the Carson Park football stadium is being considered, student leaders are worried that the proposed referendum could complicate that effort, too. “The Student Senate believes the implications of the legislation for subsequent partnerships and other venues that host performance arts events are ... unclear,” the press release stated. “Because of this, the Student Senate encourages a careful examination of the referendum’s impact before any vote is cast as it could contain unintended implications for future collaborations.