It’s a Great Day to be a Bobcat

Seriously. Old Commons is no more. Starting this morning (the “soft opening” as Dining Services calls it), the Bates community ate in a BEAUTIFUL new building. But that’s besides my point, because we all knew it was going to be wonderful and exciting and huge. The building is new, but the old Commons doesn’t exist anymore. So when are we going to move on from the past at just call it “Commons” with some kind of regularity?I could try and tell you why we haven’t yet… I get a feeling most Bates students don’t like drastic change, so calling it “new Commons” retains the idea of “old Commons” which is the way things used to be (if that makes any sense). I think we all agree that this new building (which is Commons and so much more)  is significantly better than the old one. I think we all agree that 280 College Street (aka New Rand Village) is the kind of living we want to see more of on campus. Even if we appreciate the improvements to campus, the layout and landscape of campus is changing… and reminiscing about the small field the Ultimate Frisbee team used to practice on (upon which “New Commons” is built) just makes me sad, even if I am looking forward to people-watching from a comfy couch near the fireplace.