Charlotte Shao ‘26

On Apr. 4, the Sarah Lawrence class of ‘24 was invited to gather inside the still-under-renovation HUB for a sneak peek and a farewell to the student space formerly known as the Pub. Despite the power outages earlier that day, the event was on as promised.

At about 5 p.m., seniors arrived at the fences surrounding the HUB, formerly known as the Pub, where they were allowed onto the patio to wait with drinks and snacks. The air was lively as friends grouped together to music playing over the loudspeakers, waiting for their turn to enter the building and leave their mark.

Only about a dozen students were let in at a time with the prepared hard hats. These students were sent in through the side entrance, where they walked past sign stands with individual room plans. Students could look at the mock-ups for the LGBTQ space and then look through the doors to the rooms with the wooden beams bared and ready for change. The space was clearly still in the process of being renovated, but the posters gave a glimpse of what was to come. They continued through the building, looking at the torn-up rooms and the empty spaces waiting to be repurposed.

Finally, in the room that was to be the new dining area and living room space, there was a large white bubble painted onto the wall with “Class of 2024” written on it, where the seniors could sign their names.

Many administrators and faculty members were in attendance. President Cristle Collins Judd was present sporting her iconic green outfit, taking photos with the seniors as they signed the wall. Dean of Studies Dave Stanfield was also in attendance, and took the time to answer some questions for The Phoenix.

On the name change, he explained that the new name is an acronym: “H is for humanity, the U is for understanding, and B is for belonging.” They had run the name by many of the affinity groups as well as the Student Senate and gotten positive responses. Stanfield also noted that names for student spaces tend to come and go out of fashion, so it was important to the administration that the HUB was reminiscent of the Pub, connecting it directly to Sarah Lawrence. It also refers to the “hub and spoke shape” of the building, which another administrator confirmed was their intention.

When asked about his hope for the future of the HUB, Stanfield reiterated that the new placement of these affinity spaces at the center of campus is meant to encourage more students to use and enjoy the space. He also mentioned that there would be plenty of nooks and crannies for Sarah Lawrence students who wanted a cozy place to hang out and study.

When asked about her memories of the HUB/Pub, Quinn McColgan ‘24 said,“I think that for me, the big thing that stands out is that the Pub used to be a place, in my freshman year, where you would go and get your… Covid tests done. So it's nice to see it transform into a space for community where it just feels like a full circle moment at the end of my four years here.”

On her hopes for the HUB, McColgan said, “I just think that Sarah Lawrence is in need of student spaces and not just to study, but to form community. So I'm hoping it becomes a place for that, just a place for kids to relax and feel like they're surrounded by people they can talk to and mix with.”

****Correction Published April 6th 9:57am

A Sneak Peek at the HUB