If you build it, they will come.” It’s more than a quotable
from “Field of Dreams,” it’s a lifelong adage, proved true by our own school’s
stirring progress of construction at its two main hubs: Student Center and
Price Center. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing students finally
occupying what used to be dirt patches and parking spaces for cranes and
bulldozers.
Nearly all the walkways are now paved and accessible in
previously a cramped clutter of fenced-off construction supplies and materials,
has doubled in size. The General Store Co-op, Food Co-op, Bike Shop and new
Treehouse Lounge now see more foot traffic, perhaps the healthiest sign of an
active campus. “The hump” is adorned on its edges with concrete landscaping,
where students now sit between classes to absorb a few pages of reading. Others
catch some sun in
central courtyard, where the space previously jammed up by A.S. Soft Reserves
is wide open and occupied by the occasional sunbather. Studying abounds in the
student lounge, where the attraction could be the plush cushion armchairs, warm
fireplace or occasional waft of Asiatic herbs and spices from Hi
Even Porter’s Pub is a beneficiary; the normally roughshod eatery now boasts
the cosmetic amenity of graveled pathways and a few greening trees.
On May 12,
will celebrate the official opening of the building’s east atrium, a collection
of retail restaurants and eateries. Within six months, the area will see the
opening of ____ businesses, including Burger King, Tapioca Express and ____
Grill. The Sunshine Market is currently the area’s only attraction, but the
lounge and sitting areas outside the grocery store’s entrance are already
filling up modestly with students. Imagine the hustle-and-bustle of future
lunch hours, when the choice of Mexican food doesn’t bind you to Rubio’s or
when deciding on Asian cuisine doesn’t pigeonhole you to Panda Express’
three-item combo.
To see Student Center and Price Center as lively and vibrant
as they are now, and to foresee the two areas soon pulsating with even more
student life, is the gratifying culmination of waiting unknowingly for years,
frustratingly maneuvering around blocked walkways and cursing the phrase
“weather delays” that seemed so ubiquitous to administrators. It’s all finally
built, and we’re coming.
