In an era of heightened student expectations, student facilities have become an important component in the race for universities to “keep up with the Joneses”—especially when there is already a long and strong history of competition among institutions, as is the case between Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This week UNC opened the doors to its posh new student center, the Rams Head Center, leaving some members of the Duke community wondering how Duke’s future student plaza will measure up.
Many students and University officials believe the student plaza will act as much more than a marketing tool, but they do not deny that it could help the University’s image while simultaneously serving student needs.
“If it is done right, I think it will be an improvement to what we have now, and could definitely be a calling card for the University,” sophomore Megan Bode said.
Treat Harvey, major gifts officer for student affairs, emphasized instead that the main beneficiaries will be current students.
“The plaza is really something being built for the students here now to enhance student life,” she said. “A school like Duke has so much to offer that I do not think we will need to use something like the plaza to lure students.”
But prospective and current students alike are drawn to having the best at their fingertips. “I do believe that people have high expectations for the project,” Bode said.
Naturally, officials say, students will look at the facility as they do any space. “Anytime a student looks at a place, they look with a critical eye,” Harvey said.
UNC’s $72 million center had been characterized by the administration as “a multipurpose building that will help bring together North and South Campus.” It boasts a 700-space parking deck, high-tech eateries, an extensive arcade, a recreational facility, a lavish 6,500-square-foot grocery store and a rooftop landscaped plaza overlooking Kenan Stadium.
While Duke will not be completely revamping the Bryan Center anytime in the near future, administrators hope the new $10 million, 40,000-square-foot student plaza will be “the living room of West Campus”—exactly what the center was meant to be—and satisfy a student need that is currently unfulfilled.
It will provide “a place to see and be seen,” said Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “I really do think it will provide visibility for people, programs and activities that the BC has not been able to.”
Unlike the Rams Head Center, the plaza will be an outdoor space and will include performance areas, eateries, social gathering space and a mist fountain.
But UNC students will pay the price for their sumptuous center—students will face an increase of $76 per student in debt service and recreational charges. The Duke student plaza, however, will be completely financed by private donations.
The project’s success will essentially be determined by how students use it.
“Our hope is to have students see that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” Harvey said.
While University officials can send the message that this is a place that fosters communication, it will ultimately be up to the students whether they take advantage of it or not. As President Richard Brodhead has articulated in many of his statements to the University community, it is each student’s responsibility to make Duke the school they want it to be.
“I’m hopeful that it will be designed such that it creates an atmosphere where students can both socialize and study,” Bode said. “The BC walkway doesn’t really serve much purpose, and I think Duke kids are looking for that to change with the new plaza.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.