McCullough Center Vies for Social Hub Status

Author: Joshua Carson

A little over five years ago, The Grille was a swimming pool.

Since its reconstruction, the McCullough Student Center has been trying to establish itself as one of the central social spaces on campus. But what has it really become? A mailroom, a coffee house, a community center? Well, that all depends on whom you ask.

Two students debated the issue in Gifford, yesterday:

"I feel like - if you go the Grille at 1 a.m. on a Saturday night - you will see a lot of people that you know," one sophomore said.

"Yeah, but as far as the weekdays, the Great Hall in BiHall is more of a social space than McCullough," counters the other. "I do not think anyone goes [to McCullough] to have fun, it is just the only place to get food late at night."

From the College's perspective, the Director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) Douglas Adams expressed a vision of the social space as a "really comfortable living room that is a comfortable place to interact and socialize." He said that it is a place for students and run predominantly by students who staff and organize the programming.

We want to "offer something for everyone," Adams said, "but the challenge is to find a balance."

With an increasing number of students going off-campus on the weekends, the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) is working with CCAL to find that balance and distinguish McCullough as a popular space that it was once perceived to be.

"A lot of seniors I have talked to miss the way McCullough [dances] were when we were freshmen -packed every weekend," said MCAB Grille Programming Chair Susan Reagan '04. "A lot of Middlebury's social scene has shifted off-campus, and that is a potentially dangerous trend."

To encourage students to come to McCullough, MCAB has organized an array of programming to try and attract more of the student body - not just those who want to dance. According to MCAB President Leslie Wade '04.5, MCAB has scheduled on-campus groups to perform three times a week, organized special events like pool and dart tournaments and hopes to arrange for special viewings of the Super Bowl and March Madness - complete with food and drinks from the Grille.

"MCAB is pushing McCullough Dance parties as the late night option for people looking to wind down their nights," Reagan says. "We're looking into extending the hours and making it a late night spot."

MCAB and the Student Government Association also campaigned together to lower the price of alcohol. Now, The Grille has the least expensive beer and wine in town while offering a rotating selection of local microbrews.

Wade said she hoped to "break down" the wall between The Grille and the social space.

The increased construction and developing commons system, however, seems to pose a problem for McCullough.

Wade said as more commons come online and new buildings shift the center of campus away from McCullough, the need for a single student social space will be eliminated as individual commons provide live music, food and entertainment.

Ann Hanson, dean of student affairs, noted, however, "McCullough is an important place on campus, because it provides a center for all students, in all commons to come and relax. Having events there can draw students from many commons and gives students a chance to get to know each other in a social setting."

The CCAL Web site describes McCullough as a "changing and growing organization, striving always to meet the expanding needs of its patrons and to become a true community center."

Adams, Reagan and Wade all expressed a similar sentiment about the role of the student center.

In essence, McCullough is what the student body makes of it. By providing suggestions, criticisms and support to CCAL and MCAB, students can shape McCullough into a dance hall, a concert venue or anything else they desire.

Reagan explained: "I think MCAB generally seeks to bring the campus what they want as social options - we would love to have every McCullough packed and be able to bring popular events, talent, themes, etc. to our remote campus."