Baruch College has always done an amazing job of giving students the ability to be creative, voice their opinions, and create space for the community. From hosting our own club events to protesting freely and safely on campus grounds, Baruch College has always done its best for its students. However, one thing that Baruch seems to overlook —perhaps because they believe it is unimportant— is having a proper cafeteria and enough seating space for their students.
Baruch used to have a Baruch bookstore and mini-Starbucks Café on the first floor near the entrance. The bookstore/cafe worked as a place for students to get coffee or lunch in between classes, buy textbooks or any other school supplies, meet with friends, or simply do homework while eating. It also gave students more opportunities to have/do work-study during their break between classes, without the fear of missing or arriving late to class. Moreover, this café did wonders for the social aspect. Unlike other CUNYs, Baruch is known to be a ‘commuter school’. Making friends in college as an incoming freshman or transfer student is already hard on its own, but when the bookstore/café used to be there, socializing and making friends was a bit easier.
Once the bookstore was permanently closed, Baruch slowly lost their social culture and dwindled to being a ‘commuter school’ once again. Many students voiced concerns about not having enough places to hang out or space to “simply sit and do homework/study”. Baruch would almost always respond by saying we have the outdoor plaza, downstairs ‘dining hall’, and the small café under the library, to hang out and eat. While these spaces are available for us, they are not always available to us. The outdoor plaza is a great place to eat and hang out during the summer or spring semester, but once fall and winter come around, no one wants to be outside in the cold or rain especially those who struggle with health problems (i.e. asthma, allergies, etc.). Moreover, both the dining hall and mini-cafeteria under the library have a limit of 60-150 students to enter. The space is already so limited at Baruch, that it becomes worse when these spaces are rented out for club events and there aren’t any other places to sit or eat.
I created a flyer and newspaper post to demonstrate the promised hope vs. the reality of having space and a cafeteria at Baruch. The first flyer depicts the days when Baruch promised to reopen the bookstore as a student lounge and give back to students the space they desperately need. Days like these, allow students to be happy that they are truly being listened to and receiving that “campus feeling” that many CUNY schools struggle to fulfill. But, if you read the fine print letters on the flyer, it is later revealed that these promises are just temporary or ‘wishful’ thinking. This then brings me to the newspaper I created, where it depicts the reality of how the ‘cafeteria’ actually looks at Baruch. Each photo has been taken within this week, highlighting the fact that students will continue to struggle to find a cozy spot to either eat, socialize, study, or all the above.
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