Dear Members of the Northwestern Community,
It is safe to say that each and every member of Northwestern’s campus has something to love about this university. The campus is inviting, the students are engaging, and the education is outstanding. But there is something missing from the experiences of each and every student — a sense of campus community. That’s not to say that we do not feel tied and connected to our fellow students. But it is a fact that current students and alumni do not feel that passionate sense of togetherness with their fellow ‘Cats. The New Student Center Initiative is working to change that mindset.
A student center should be a place in which students feel at home, where we can all eat, study, meet, perform, and relax under a common roof. Our Norris University Center was initially designed in an attempt to bridge the rifts within Northwestern. The gaps between North and South campus, Greek life and non-Greek life, and among our various academic schools and majors, are just a few that are becoming painfully obvious. As much as we care for and rely on Norris, it no longer has the capacity to bring us all together, to serve our needs as students, or to make our Northwestern experiences unique.
Our initiative is trying to be ambitious and practical at the same time. We envision a student center that can pull our campus together, while also adding the facilities and resources that so many of our peer institutions enjoy. Washington University in St. Louis has all of their important student services, including career counseling and Greek life, under its new Danforth University Center. Why can’t we? Ohio State University’s Ohio Union has a ballroom to fit 1,700 students, nearly our entire freshman class. Why can’t we? Williams College’s Paresky Center, constructed during our own President Schapiro’s tenure there, has a pub and mail center right in the heart of campus. Why can’t we?
Imagine a building in the heart of Northwestern where we could enjoy a show in a proper blackbox theater, or where we could pick up all of our groceries, or where we could mail a package without trekking into Evanston. Imagine a New Student Center.
All of this could happen, but we need everyone to help. We are in the process of building support from every member on this campus, both in the student body and in the highest levels of administration. We’ve gained feedback from all of you, and we’ve molded our proposals based on all the input we have gathered. But there’s much more to be done.
The university is currently in the process of putting together a strategic plan, a forward-looking outline of Northwestern’s most important needs and an evaluation of possible solutions. But these needs are not fabricated by the administration, they are wholly derived from the desires of Northwestern students. Help us reflect those desires in the form of a new student center. Spread the word, share your thoughts, and inspire others to do the same.
How do you want to shape the future of Northwestern University? How do you want to change the way we collectively feel about our community? The time to match our student life experiences to those of our peer universities is now. The time to bring our Northwestern University together is now. Let’s build a new student center together.
Ash Jaidev
The New Student Center Initiative
groups.northwestern.edu/nsc
newstudentcenter@gmail.com
Editor’s note: Ash Jaidev contributed to North by Northwestern in October 2009.