Courtesy | Maggie O’Connor

I was prepared for the campus to be destroyed by construction. But I wasn’t ready for the campus community to be collateral damage. 

At this point, nearly every student gathering place is under construction. The library has taken a special blow, with fewer students gathering on the top floor, “Heaven,” where students have traditionally socialized. Now, it’s shockingly quiet.  

When I ask friends of all ages why they don’t congregate in the library anymore, they tell me something like “The library is just too depressing with the construction.” My fellow students, construction may have wrecked our quad, our student union, and our library, but we cannot let it destroy our vibrant student body. 

For those too young to remember the before times, allow me to explain. Study groups (that maybe studied sometimes), friend groups, and outgoing individuals all flocked to the whole first floor library, especially after dinner. It was a gathering place over which the entire student body bonded. We even had a study room — “the fishbowl” — with a large chalkboard visible to those outside the library with silly poll questions and doodles. This wasn’t your grandma’s library of hushed tones and serious academic pursuits. No, we went to the library for a fun time.

Common areas are vital for building a sense of belonging and shared experience among the student body. At Hillsdale, the top floor of the library had long been a place where students from across campus communed for academic and social pursuits. It was a common ground for all students regardless of club, athletic, or Greek affiliations,to intermingle. Hillsdale has no lack of smaller communities, but we do risk losing our overarching community if we continue limiting our social circles to what’s familiar, convenient, or just not under construction.

The beauty of Hillsdale is, among other things, the various personalities and interests of our student body. Your dorm room, even your dorm building, is not enough. Your Saga table is not enough. Your sorority or fraternity is not enough. If you keep yourself isolated or comfortable with the familiar, you will miss your only opportunity to meet some incredible people. Please don’t make a wall and muted drilling sounds the reason you leave this institution without ever knowing them. 

For us juniors and seniors, we have been fortunate to enjoy a campus with all its amenities. Most of us will be out of here soon enough and none of this will matter, but we should care for the freshmen and sophomores who haven’t had the same opportunity. That’s not to say they haven’t formed equally meaningful friendships. But it does mean they haven’t adequately experienced the dynamic, youthful, quirky character of Hillsdale — Hillsdale at its fullest. 

So gather in Heaven once again. Debate obscure theological facts. Laugh with each other. Commiserate over your midterms. Whatever you do, please just make the library loud again. 

Adriana Azarian is a senior studying politics. Illustrated by Maggie O’Connor.