Opinion: The Death of the Communal College Spaces

The communal space in the lobby of Ward Hall. Photo via Elizabeth Baumgardner '25

Throughout the school week, you can find most students filtered throughout the academic buildings on campus. From attending classes, working on assignments, or studying for exams, students are everywhere. However, when the week is over and Friday rolls around, the Marist College campus feels like a ghost town. And I know for a fact we’re not a suitcase school. With over 5,000 undergraduate students, where does everyone go?

According to Marist Housing, there are over 3,300 students who live on campus full-time in one of the multiple different residence areas. More than half of the undergraduate student body lives on campus, but it never feels like anyone is around. After walking around campus and taking note of the spaces I saw, I believe the issue is not the lack of communal space on campus, but the lack of people using them.

Marist provides a variety of different spaces on campus for students, from lounges in academic and residential buildings to multiple dining areas. There has to be a reason no one uses them. Brooke Burrows ‘26 suspects that it is a matter of comfortability and believes that people get comfortable being in their own space, whether it is by themselves or with friends.

“People get comfortable with who they associate themselves with. Why would they go to a common space when their common space could be another person’s dorm room or the living room in someone’s townhouse or apartment?” she asked.

Burrows commented on the fact that after freshman year, the provided housing tends to make students isolate themselves from each other and stick with their friend groups. Since the college provides a communal space within student’s living spaces, it doesn’t make much sense to branch out and utilize other spaces if one is so easily accessible.

Typically, when I see someone in a lounge area, it is because they’re working on something or waiting for something. Mackenzie Carey ‘26 commented on the functionality and setup of these areas.

“I feel like when someone is in a common space, I don’t want to disturb them. I’m going to go sit somewhere else or sit far away from them,” said Carey. “For dorms, there would always be a group that consistently hung out in them. I never wanted to take their space away from them. I just hung out in my dorm with my friends.”

In communal spaces, there is a constant pressure to be or act a certain way. Lucas Iommazzo ‘25 believes the lack of privacy makes it difficult to enjoy time in these spaces.

“These areas don’t offer enough privacy, so it is difficult to hang out with friends in them. People are always walking by, and you don’t know who is around. For people with anxiety or are insecure, there’s not enough privacy from people in those settings,” he said.

When I was trying to get students’ opinions on why these spaces were not being used, I struggled because I couldn’t find anyone in these spaces. However, after hearing these reasons, it makes sense as to why. While these spaces exist to try and bring people together, it is the apprehension that students feel when in these spaces that makes them fail to meet their goals.

While these spaces are rather public, it is rather nice to get out of one’s comfort zone. Next time you’re bored in your dorm or in need of a new space, maybe check out one of the spaces on campus. It is always nice to have a change of scenery.