The moment we were anxiously awaiting- the opening of Stokes Hall- has finally arrived. As a person who has never seen BC without the monstrosity of that construction site, I was especially excited to see its completion and I took the first chance I could to explore.
It was so large I hardly knew where to begin and I found myself aimlessly wandering endless hallways and almost always ended up amongst rows and rows of half-moved into office cubicles.
The Basics
After a little while I got a better idea of where things were. There are classrooms on all of the floors along with offices for all of the humanities departments. In terms of navigating, it is important to note that there is a north and a south side (indicated by an N or an S next to the room number). The north side is the one closer to the quad and the south side is the one closer to Mac. The archways and the breezeway that goes over them (if you are walking inside) connect the north and south sides.
The Crown Jewel
I would argue that the best thing about Stokes is the return of the Chocolate Bar. It is so nice to have it back with its full-fledged coffee services along with new amenities such as Chobani, fruit, and gelato. Plus, its tables and comfy chairs serve as the perfect place to relax between classes, meet up with friends or to get some work done.
Fancy Smancy
Since the building project cost a whopping $78 million dollars, I guess I should have expected it to be nice, but I was still surprised at how fancy everything is. Of course, from the outside Stokes is beautiful. From Co-Ro, there are lighted walkways that lead up to the building, giving it a romantic touch. Even more magical are the Hogwarts-esque arches. BC has often been compared to Harry Potter’s school (especially because of Bapst), and Stokes perfectly fits the bill, owing to its gothic style architecture.
Moreover, everything in the building is very high tech. All the classrooms have brand new projection and sound systems (and yet most still have chalkboards which I think gives a old-school touch of familiarity to the learning experience). There is one lecture hall with fancy red velvet seats with a desk attachment that was so sophisticated it took me a long time to figure out how to use it. The golden elevators are also kind enough to inform you in a cool female voice if you are “going up” or “going down,” which scared me to death the first time I tried to ride one.
Nuances
Since Stokes seems to be not quite completed and only half moved into, it gives off the vibe that it is full of secrets. First of all, there is a mysterious penthouse that cannot be reached by elevator or stairs, but the door is locked. The basement is also locked… both things are very reminiscent of “The third–floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death,” if you ask me.
Many rooms and closets are completely empty, save for a few odd items and contain thought-provoking labels such as “vestibule” and “entry” that make me wonder their intended use. I even stumbled upon a room with ceiling high shelves that contained boxes and boxes of really old books.
I don’t want to give too much of a spoiler so I recommend, if you haven’t already, you go and explore BC’s latest addition to campus and make some discoveries of your own as well as take advantage of all that Stokes has to offer.