• The fifth floor of the Alumni Memorial Union contains a conference room for Board of Trustee meetings, a dining room and a reception area.
• The private area is used for special events, such as receptions for donors, teachers and resident assistants.
• Although it is well-furnished, viewers said it is not too "lavish" or extraordinary.

At the top of the Alumni Memorial Union lies a place shrouded in mystery. Rumors about the fifth floor of the AMU have circulated for years, with students whispering tales of gold-plated toilets, the blueprints to Stonehenge and an urn containing the ashes of Pere Marquette himself.

The locked doors at the top of either AMU staircase keep curious adventurers from accessing the area. Even the elevator requires a key to reach the fifth floor.

Unfortunately, for those who enjoy juicy gossip or a good mystery, the fifth floor is not as extraordinary as some believe.

The fifth floor, called the Pere Marquette Discovery Suite, includes a conference room for Board of Trustee meetings, a dining room that seats about 75 people and a reception area, according to Steve Frieder, assistant to the president and corporate secretary for the Board of Trustees.

Most universities provide their president with a house in which he or she could also entertain guests, Frieder said. However, since University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild resides in the Jesuit Residence, the fifth floor of the AMU provides an area for him to hold special receptions.

The space offers a place for Wild to meet with donors who have a potential to provide major gifts, as well as for gatherings to thank donors for their generosity, Frieder said.

"It's used as a cultivation tool in fundraising," Frieder said.

Other events held there include a year-end banquet for resident assistants and a teaching excellence awards dinner, Frieder said.

The AMU opened in 1990. Previously, a smaller space in the Brooks Union, later torn down to make room for the Raynor Library, was used for the types of events now held on the fifth floor of the AMU, Frieder said.

The fifth floor and its amenities were made possible through a gift by Dr. and Mrs. Sanbo Sakaguchi, Frieder said. The floor is dedicated to the couple.

Sakaguchi, a 1944 Marquette graduate, donated the money in recognition of Marquette being one of the few schools that admitted Japanese-American students during World War II, Frieder said. At that time, many Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps on the West Coast.

While the fifth floor is decorated very "tastefully," Frieder does not think it is "overly ostentatious." Despite rumors, there are no hot tubs or faucets made of gold, he said.

The Rev. James Flaherty, an assistant professor of philosophy and a member of the Board of Trustees, compared the fifth floor to an "upscale hotel." However, he said there is nothing too expensive there that students would be upset about.

Although the floor remains a mystery to most students because of its private access, some student leaders and student workers in the AMU have seen the area, Flaherty said.

The fifth floor has nothing "extravagant" or out of the ordinary, according to one AMU student employee who asked not to be identified.

The student has been in the dining room and the floor's bathroom, which she said has faucets with blue and gold Marquette emblems on them.

Brian Pelrine, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of the Residence Hall Association, attended a luncheon on the fifth floor of the AMU in January. He was invited because he serves on the Trustee Committee for Student Affairs.

Pelrine said the fifth floor space is very well-furnished, with "fancy" curtains and "nice" carpeting. He also cited an impressive collection of plates hanging on the wall of the dining room. The balcony has a good view of campus, he said.

Although some might think the fifth floor is too lavish, Pelrine said he does not.

"Those who use the fifth floor are often individuals who do much for the university, often without benefit for themselves," Pelrine said.

"I'm very honored to have had the chance to go up there because I might not get another chance," Pelrine said.

At deadline, Tribune access to the fifth floor of the AMU was not approved.