After a long summer break, returning to the Student Center Café looked more like something out of a tripped-out episode of “Star Trek” rather than the 1970s art-deco style we all knew last semester–and possibly since the 1970s.
Gossip about the new design of the Student Center had been buzzing around for months, many wondering if Sbarro would stay or go, if more seats would be added, or, option three, a new look altogether. What we got? Some changes for the better, others, for the worse.
An edition of last semester’s “Man on the Unispan” featured a question about things students would like to see changed in the Student Center. Many liked the layout of the food and dining areas as is–however, like most places in New York, space is a commodity.
After the construction of Commerce Bank within the Student Center, students wanted more seats in the front. If there were no tables available, which was usually the case, the back of the cafeteria has always been an option.
However, it’s a toss-up: The front of the Student Center has always provided a place to relax while still feeling connected to the hustle-and-bustle of the University, where the environment in the back of the cafeteria seemed to lack a truly desirable element-something that ice cream and smoothies couldn’t seem to fix.
Today, the front of the cafeteria is not as inviting. The tables are silver, sterile slabs of metal; lights perched on each place setting. In the back cafeteria, the round tables are gone-replaced with hip, funky leather seating, pastel tables, chandeliers that resemble small UFOs and pale green paint with the Hofstra logo and some arbitrary clock without numbers, just dots.
Once, the front of the Student Center Café attracted more attention. Now the roles have flip-flopped. Students are now flocking to the back for the comfy chairs, open seating and the general “coolness” of how it looks. Therefore, as more students use the space, a greater sense of community can be developed over time.
Nevertheless, the front cafeteria tends to resemble the updated-look of Axinn Library without the care and coziness of its main lobby (featuring Kobrick’s Coffee and various study spaces). Students are scrunching to fit between the rows of tables and chairs; seats are planted into the ground, providing no mobility whatsoever. Persons with disabilities have little to no place to sit with their friends; on the back of Commerce Bank, the only accessible table is lower to the ground, with a few chairs here-and-there.
And who knows when the new Pizza Exchange and Maui Taco will open?
For now, the new Pura Vida Coffee-with fair-trade beans and living wages for its employees-has attracted new students to the Student Center. The crepes are crazy, the coffee is cool and the Organic Grille has made its home inside the old pretzel place.
Our advice? Go sit in the back.