Like many students, junior John Erickson came back to school and noticed four large benches on the Main Quadrangle--and he was confused.
The Spanish benches--as many students are calling them--arrived from Spain while students were on Winter Break. 'I don"t know where you would get an idea like that: a bench from Spain?' Erickson wondered while sitting on the Campus Council bench, which is about 10 feet away from one of the new Spanish benches.
The $4,000 benches look markedly different from existing student-built bench designs. They are low platforms made of dark thick wood. One vertical piece juts out from the platform, allowing people to sit or lie down on them.
The benches, promised by administrators last semester, finally made it to campus after a two month delay in customs. While in customs, mold began to grow on them, preventing their entry into the United States and postponing their arrival at Duke. The benches went through processes of cleaning and refinishing before being placed on the Main Quad.
Until administrators decide the future of the four wooden monoliths, the benches will endure a trial period on the Main Quad. Residential Life and Housing Services bought the benches to explore possible seating options for the West Campus plaza, which will replace the Bryan Center Walkway in the next few years. Administrators said the European style of the benches offers a preview of the plaza"s proposed European theme. Construction on the plaza is scheduled for next summer.
'These benches were ordered to be placed in the main quad for students and other members of the campus community to determine if they were possible seating options in the plaza,' said Eric Van Danen, director of communications for the Office of Student Affairs. 'The main quad seemed to be a good place for temporary seating options,' he added.
Van Danen said that he hopes that 'throughout the semester, students and other members of the campus community will be socializing around the benches' as they have in years past.The very heavy wooden benches were cemented into the ground to prevent their destruction in basketball bonfires. Some students predicted that despite the perceived permanence of the benches, they will not escape a fiery fate.
After being criticized about the lack of student input in the benches" purchase, administrators are now starting to gather feedback about them from students. Van Danen encouraged students and other members of the campus community to e-mail him directly with their reactions.
He said that although the benches were bought with the intention of providing seating for the new plaza, 'if they are embraced, they could be seating options for other parts of campus.'
Students, however, are skeptical about the benches. Junior Ross Rickoff--who was seated on one of the new benches--said that although the new benches look classier, the student-built benches are more comfortable and hold more sentimental value.
'I don"t know how comfortable or practical they are,' he said. 'I would like to see more student benches back on Main West Campus.'
RLHS decided that permanent seating was necessary due to students" lack of interest in building benches themselves. A bench building contest, however, sponsored by the Alumni Affairs office during Homecoming week last semester drew large student interest with many student organizations participating. The majority of these benches were removed from the Main Quad on West Campus to make room for the Spanish benches.
Erickson also expressed negative sentiments from his perch on an old bench. 'They look like half benches,' he noted. 'My roommate said he hoped we paid half price.'
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