Now, I am not given to having a conversation with myself very often, but the other day I walked over to the Woodbury Campus Center and did just that. I said to myself, and out loud, “USM’s student center sucks.” Really, it is abominable and depressing.
I have been in there thousands of times over the last few years and, frankly, I cannot remember wanting to stay in the building, even to eat. I would rather have my lunch or dinner in the parking lot.
The student center does not feel like a center at all. It feels more like an end-a dead end.
Just opening the door to the food court, my eyes always take a few seconds to adjust from the stark contrast of the outside light to the inside abyss-like darkness of the foyer. When I do regain my vision, I notice the carpeting looks like it smells. It is dark and stained. The tables in the cafeteria often look disheveled, like the Preble Street Soup Kitchen after a brawl. If I had an inclination to use the student information center, I might take a rain-check. It is scary and I have half-expected “Vampire Boy” to appear in the window. Finally, what are those cylindrical “Tin Man” towers lined up along the length of the ramp that runs the middle of the center? I know they have notices on them, but.
My point? Aesthetics matter.
They matter because when USM gives tours to prospective students and they include a stop at the Student Center, it might leave the impression USM suffers from low-self esteem. Low self esteem is not good for building confidence in a community. It can be alienating, and self-defeating.
Last summer, USM released the final draft of a strategic plan. Some important goals are listed in it for the USM community. For instance, goal 7 saysUSM needs, “to strengthen community;” and goal 8 states the need, “to deploy USM’s physical plant” to “create a student-centered institution where engaged learning and student success is enhanced both inside and outside the classroom.”
Further, Botman proclaims it is the student’s “experience of campus life” that also contributes to their success during their college years.
This is about building community.
One way to build a community is to have a physical place to do it. Students want to land in a place they feel welcome; a place they feel comfortable.
Money is a sensitive subject these days, and suggesting USM build a new building or renovate an existing one is like asking the 800-pound gorilla in the room to join you for dinner, but there are alternatives. Success stories already abound. For instance, Brooklyn College in New York turned their campus center over to the students several years ago when money was tight. The students obtained a building loan to renovate and eventually build a second story. Now there is space to rent for organizations, study rooms, a café, a movie room and more. Any money they take in goes right back in to the student center coffers for upkeep and paying back the loan.
Student centers matter.
I imagine the student center being the gateway to USM’s Portland campus. A place where newcomers are welcome and existing students feel at home. It would be a place with tall windows, like Abramson, where light streams in from the east and west. It would be two stories, the first level would have a food court, a coffee shop, and several eating areas for students to sit and have meals. Also, the Art Gallery would be a more prominent feature of the student center as a place to display student work or to host a community art show. All student-related activities, i.e. clubs, organizations, even the Student Success program would be housed in this centralized spot. I can see a second floor where there are study nooks, rooms to rent for events or meetings, even an area to show movies. Finally, the student center would have several lounge areas, both lower and upper levels, where students could relax and connect outside of the classroom.
The center would be a place for students to congregate and connect, and President Botman can help make it happen.
Her reward?
USM would look like a vibrant, student centered university. Interested and connected students will take pride in the place they learn, and more easily develop an interest in the community outside the campus, where they might be compelled to look for a job.
Everyone has their pipe dreams, just like President Botman, but this one should come true. If it does she won’t need any more conversation starters-they will have already begun without her.
Julia Ridge is a Senior Communications major.