Monday, August 29, 2005
Life in the Student Center
By Allison Bloch, Staff Writer
Now that another semester has started at SF State, a familiar question looms over students- what to do between classes? Many students, both new and old, don’t know exactly.
Welcome to the student center.
At first glance, the Cesar Chavez Student Center is an exciting place. You can grab a smoothie, a burrito, and some ice cream- but if it you expect it all to be fast, don’t hold your breath, especially if you go at lunch time. For someone who has been at SF State for three years, I know that if I want a burrito at 12p.m. the lines will be so long that I might as well grab a microwaveable one from the store and it will be faster.
And if food doesn’t appeal to you, there’s a room dedicated just to pool tables and video games. So you can play Dance Dance Revolution on your hour break. I’m not one to judge, but just be careful if you spend all your time down underground at the video games because it’s not the best way to pick up on people.
And then you have the Depot- with live music, DJs, comedy acts and sporting events playing on the screen year round.
But here’s the best part: Beer.
Next to the Depot is the pub- where if class is really bringing you down you can grab a quick drink and then head back to hit the books…or not hit the books…
The pub is tiny and dark, but creates the illusion of being off-campus, if only for that few minutes while you chug down a beer before going back to class.
Lastly, once you go back above ground and into the sunlight (or fog, depending on the crappy weather here), you can relax outside on the quad. Now you need to be aware that for the first few weeks of every semester there are groups and groups of people with tables trying to lure you into joining their organization. From Bible Study to Fraternities/Sororities to Community
Service groups, they are all up there handing out brightly colored flyers.
Countless trees have been sacrificed so that you can have a flyer with desperately needed information about the Animation Society or the Glass Guild. Everyone just throws it away, anyway, so what’s the point?
On the other hand, walking through the quad and all the tables is similar to a popularity contest. Although majority of people don’t want to be bothered, I know that if my friends and I walk through and no one tries to recruit us, we are thinking, “What? Are we not good enough?”
It’s like high school all over again.
The great part about the quad is the music that is blasted for hours during the afternoon, and many times you’ll find people dancing in the middle.
So as the semester progresses and you find yourself spending more and more time in the student center, keep this in mind: The Chinese food on the bottom floor is not that good, Dance Dance Revolution is not that cool, and the pub will become your best friend during a long, stressful day at SF State.
Enjoy yourself, and please drink responsibly.
Thanks.
Now that another semester has started at SF State, a familiar question looms over students- what to do between classes? Many students, both new and old, don’t know exactly.
Welcome to the student center.
At first glance, the Cesar Chavez Student Center is an exciting place. You can grab a smoothie, a burrito, and some ice cream- but if it you expect it all to be fast, don’t hold your breath, especially if you go at lunch time. For someone who has been at SF State for three years, I know that if I want a burrito at 12p.m. the lines will be so long that I might as well grab a microwaveable one from the store and it will be faster.
And if food doesn’t appeal to you, there’s a room dedicated just to pool tables and video games. So you can play Dance Dance Revolution on your hour break. I’m not one to judge, but just be careful if you spend all your time down underground at the video games because it’s not the best way to pick up on people.
And then you have the Depot- with live music, DJs, comedy acts and sporting events playing on the screen year round.
But here’s the best part: Beer.
Next to the Depot is the pub- where if class is really bringing you down you can grab a quick drink and then head back to hit the books…or not hit the books…
The pub is tiny and dark, but creates the illusion of being off-campus, if only for that few minutes while you chug down a beer before going back to class.
Lastly, once you go back above ground and into the sunlight (or fog, depending on the crappy weather here), you can relax outside on the quad. Now you need to be aware that for the first few weeks of every semester there are groups and groups of people with tables trying to lure you into joining their organization. From Bible Study to Fraternities/Sororities to Community
Service groups, they are all up there handing out brightly colored flyers.
Countless trees have been sacrificed so that you can have a flyer with desperately needed information about the Animation Society or the Glass Guild. Everyone just throws it away, anyway, so what’s the point?
On the other hand, walking through the quad and all the tables is similar to a popularity contest. Although majority of people don’t want to be bothered, I know that if my friends and I walk through and no one tries to recruit us, we are thinking, “What? Are we not good enough?”
It’s like high school all over again.
The great part about the quad is the music that is blasted for hours during the afternoon, and many times you’ll find people dancing in the middle.
So as the semester progresses and you find yourself spending more and more time in the student center, keep this in mind: The Chinese food on the bottom floor is not that good, Dance Dance Revolution is not that cool, and the pub will become your best friend during a long, stressful day at SF State.
Enjoy yourself, and please drink responsibly.
Thanks.
# posted by Phil Deez @ 6:51 AM 