This Sunday, part of the new (and improved?) North Dining Hall was unveiled to the student body, allowing us to grab meals there and take in the new surroundings. For those of us who knew and loved the cozy, bed and breakfast, wear-your-PJs-I-don’t-care vibe of the old NDH, we were in for a shock.
The entire experience was disarming to us loyal northerners. The current atmosphere of NDH is meant to be modern and cutting edge, though several ND students have remarked that NDH looks even more like a cold, generic cafeteria now. The whole point of NDH was the cozy, welcoming aesthetic, but now that’s been taken away.
Not to mention, all the food keeps getting moved around during the different stages of renovation, making it very confusing to navigate and near impossible to remember where to find your beloved stir-fry or omelets. (This process all year has sadly chased me away to *gasp* SDH). Finally, the two-person “dining-hall date” tables featured in prominent locations throughout the dining hall got a few bewildered responses, to say the least.
NDH was one of my favorite breakfast spots on campus. I love waking up early and starting my day with a proper meal, but I especially love the calm coziness of NDH when it’s not filled with busy, talkative students during peak hours. Going to NDH and taking time with my breakfast helps me get my bearings for the day so that I don’t get overwhelmed by hustle and bustle immediately upon waking up. When I went to breakfast in the new NDH layout this morning, I realized I would have to start from scratch: learn where the food is, figure out where my favorite table is, etc. It was unsettling, but also kind of adventurous and exciting, to have breakfast there; it felt like I was in a completely different place.
However, I had my reservations about the old NDH when I first walked in as a freshman. My older brother introduced me to the wonders of SDH, and I nearly gave into the Harry Potter aesthetic. The main kicker for me was that my beloved Lewis Hall is much closer to NDH, and out of convenience, and later genuine dedication, I frequented NDH. I suppose if I could come to love the run-down but welcoming NDH, I can also come to love the new, cutting edge NDH. Since I’ll be living on campus for my senior year, I’ll have plenty of time to do so; but I’ll still tell new freshman all about NDH in its former glory.
#neverforget
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