Boston College. Boston University. Harvard.
What does Bentley University have in common with these schools? We, too, are located in the greater Boston area, maintain highly competitive academic programs, produce first-rate students whom employers seek to hire, and are proud to have a Division 1 hockey team.
What do we not have in common with them?
A state-of-the-art, D1-quality hockey rink.
Instead, the Bentley hockey team (which is the only D1 team on campus, by the way) plays at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena, better known to the Bentley population as “The JAR.” The JAR is, in essence, a rink designed for youth hockey and high school competitions. It can hold 1,250 spectators, which only amounts to about a quarter of Bentley’s student population. Anyone who attended the first game of this season could see that this poses a problem when a large amount of students wants to show up and cheer the Falcons on.
Compare The JAR to arenas from other schools such as the ones mentioned above, and the differences are quite profound (and slightly embarrassing). Take BU’s Agganis Arena, for example, where Bentley beat BU last year 4-1. Agganis sprawls over 290,000 square feet and can house up to 6,150 spectators. In addition, its seating can be expanded to over 8,000 seats for concerts, other sporting contests, and special events. How incredibly useful and valuable would an arena such as this be to the Bentley community? In a time when the college admissions process is as competitive as ever, wouldn’t this be another valuable asset to draw students to this campus? And beyond the simple practicality of such a facility, don’t the Bentley student body, athletic population, and community as a whole deserve to have this type of physical space?
A group known by many as The Bentley Top Shelf thinks so, and they have been spearheading the movement to build a hockey rink on campus.
Last year, the group began formulating a plan. In their deliberations, however, they soon realized how beneficial a large, multi-purpose center could be to stakeholders other than the Bentley hockey team. As of now, there is no location on campus that can accommodate all of Bentley’s student population; Koum can only seat 480 people, and the Dana Center can be modified to hold just under 4,000. For other large events, Bentley often puts up massive, peaked white tents on campus (which is not an inexpensive venture). Imagine if there was one place on campus where all the most popular, highly attended events— think Groove Boston, the comedy show (last year’s featured Nick Offerman!), concerts, graduation, hockey games, and more— could be held. This place, which we’ll refer to as a “Convocation Center,” is what the group set out to get built.
In order to spread the word and show the administration how serious the Bentley population is about building this facility, The Top Shelf decided to create a petition. Through multiple calculations, the group determined that raising the Bentley student activity fee by a maximum of $300 would allow the student body to generate a significant portion of the money that it would cost to build the Convocation Center. Students who signed the petition agreed that they would be willing to pay this increased fee. Over the past year, Top Shelf members have trudged door-to-door in every freshman dorm on campus (the younger classes are likely the only ones who would still be attending Bentley by the time this plan could be approved and put in place), obtaining approximately 1,200 signatures from the classes of 2017 and 2018. They recently presented this petition at a Student Government Association (SGA) forum attended by SGA representatives, Dean Shepardson, and Bentley’s CFO, with the goal of spurring action within Bentley’s highest levels of administration by proving that students would be willing to fund this venture. In addition, the group just created an online petition that students and alumni can sign, with the additional option to leave comments describing why they believe Bentley should have a Convocation Center on campus.
“The only way that the Convocation Center will get built is if members of the Bentley community get involved and show their support,” says JD Towers, a founding member of The Top Shelf.
“That’s why it’s so important for students, athletes, alumni, faculty members, and anybody else who has interest in this facility to speak up. We’re really invested in giving people a platform to share their thoughts, which is why we started these petitions.”
Realistically speaking, building a facility such as this is no small task, and it obviously involves a lot of money. That being said, the benefits that Bentley could reap from a Convocation Center could definitely be argued to outweigh those costs in the long run. Bentley is steadily developing into one of New England’s most prestigious academic institutions; why shouldn’t it continue developing in other areas as well?
If Bentley wants to continue competing academically, athletically, and socially with other colleges across the nation, they need to be committed not only to improving Bentley’s educational standing, but the physical spaces on campus as well.
The only way that a Convocation Center will be built in the near future is if the students show their support and take action. If you agree that Bentley needs and deserves to have this type of facility on campus, make sure to sign the petition and voice your opinion! In addition, you can follow The Top Shelf on Twitter and support the movement by using the hashtags #BuildARink and #IfYouBuildItWeWillCome.