By: Allison Andres
Storage space under Bellarmine’s University Dining Hall could have the potential to become home to a new student hotspot on campus.
The storage room is located just under UDH and has recently become a topic of discussion on campus as a possible renovation site, though many students don’t know about the space.
“I didn’t even know that space existed,” first-year student Danielle Feldkamp said.
Indeed, it is not the most conspicuous place on campus; people have to walk around the backside of the dining hall on the sidewalk that runs under its balcony in order to find this spot. Perhaps part of the reason it is forgotten is that it is highly disorganized. Most of the windows are covered by black curtains, but anyone walking past and peeking through the doors can see the piles upon piles of precariously stacked boxes, empty crates and random containers strewn everywhere. In addition, it is not incredibly grand or spacious, but it could definitely become something special with a little bit of work.
Once Feldkamp heard a description of this place, she said she would love to see it transformed into a new cozy café for students wanting a quick cup of coffee in the morning before class or for those who are simply tired of eating at UDH and Café Ogle every single day. This is a highly plausible option, and just by hearing how many of my peers complain about the limited range of food options on campus, I predict it would be a widely supported project.
First-year student Alex Gomez also did not know about this place beforehand, but she proposed turning it into a space that RSOs could reserve for meetings and events. She envisioned it having couches and tables, as well as a computer and projector for the clubs to utilize.
These are both great ideas, but I believe what we’re lacking on campus are more laid-back recreational areas. I could see this space being turned into a carpeted room full of comfy chairs and a TV with video game consoles for students to have a place to completely relax. It would be a perfect spot for people to go when the library was too quiet or Centro was too crowded or they didn’t feel like walking all the way back to their rooms. The SuRF offers a laid-back, recreational environment, and it’s only slightly farther from central campus than this new space, but on those days when students are just too exhausted to walk that extra little bit, this could be a great place to stop by and do some light studying or decompressing with friends between classes.
Although the space is directly underneath UDH and seems to be used mostly for Sodexo’s storage, there also appears to be many misplaced items, making the space even more disorganized. Looking inside, anyone can see the discarded boxes from food deliveries for the various spots in Café Ogle, but there are also empty computer paper boxes and abandoned printers. In addition, one first-year student said the space is also used for theatre department storage, as she visited it with her theatre class this semester. She hopes it will soon be donated to the students as an extra study space, and she believes the rest of the student body would also love to see it renovated in the upcoming years