The much-hyped Diana Center opened Tuesday—even if students from both sides of Broadway had trouble finding the front door.
While the building is still unfinished, many classrooms and offices, as well as the new Liz’s Café—the replacement for the Java City coffee shop, which had been operating out of Altschul Hall—were up and running for the first day of classes. The second floor of the center will house a dining hall. It is still to be determined when this portion of the Diana will open, but in an e-mail to Barnard students, Debora Spar pledged to have lunch there that day. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Feb. 3.
Reactions were mixed—while some said they were thrilled to see the building finally open, others wondered if it would prove as much of a community-builder as administrators have promised.
Although they were dismayed about the wait, many students said they were pleased with the result. “I think it took an excessively long time, but I think it’s worth it. I heard such great things about the old student center, so it’s good we have a new one, and I think it’s good for Barnard to have our own student center,” Lizzie Thompson, BC ’11, said.
“I think most people are excited, and I’m looking forward to see if it brings people together,” Tracy Rodrigues, BC’11, remarked.
For Rodrigues, the Diana is an important addition to student space on campus.
“Barnard really needs a student center, and it’s great for Columbia, too, because there is more shared space so we’re not all in Lerner and Butler,” she said.
English lecturer Mary Cregan, who teaches in room 504 of the Diana Center, says the facilities are “beautiful” and can’t wait to start using new audiovisual equipment in the classrooms. Though she was not optimistic that the Diana would open on time, she feels lucky to have the new facilities at her disposal.
Administrators have long touted the community-building potential of the Diana, but some still need convincing. “I’m reserving judgment to see if it actually builds community like they [administrators] said,” Rodrigues commented.
Reviews from across the street were mixed. John Goodwin, CC ’12, said he thinks the Diana “feels very big and empty right now. It’s like Lerner in that it seems to waste a lot of space, but it’s not finished yet, I guess.”
It has been a long wait for Barnard students, who have not had a student center on the Barnard campus since the McIntosh Building was demolished in 2007. “I guess it wasn’t surprising it took longer—I just hope it’s worth the wait. I’m sure they [the administration] had their reasons,” Rodrigues said.
Elizabeth Byerly, BC ’10, completed her studies in three years and confesses to being bitter about never having had a student center in that time. She commented, “I know it’s not Barnard’s fault, but I only had three years here.”
But how does it compare to McIntosh? “Despite the fact that McIntosh was kind of old and dank, it was kind of our home. Everyone liked hanging out there. It was cozy. This is very modern, and I don’t know if I’m comfortable yet. But this still feels more homey than Lerner,” Acadia Roher, BC’10, said. But she said she still feels more at home at the Diana than she ever has at Lerner. “I felt weird going to Columbia’s student center. I felt like an imposter or like I was imposing.”
elizabeth.scott@columbiaspectator.com
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