Article by: Ethan Long

Students filled a classroom inside of Suffolk’s Sawyer building on Thursday, April 29, for a meeting called to discuss the university’s plans to build a new cafeteria inside of 73 Tremont St., which currently houses the Sawyer Library as well as offices throughout the building.

The new cafeteria, which, according to the presentation by architectural firm Tsoi/Kobus & Associates could be called the “Common Ground Café,” hopes to become a social hub for students on campus. The architectural firm has previously worked with the university on building projects such as the Law School located just down the street from the 73 Tremont building.

According a power point presentation displayed in the background, the university hopes that the cafeteria will be “a social destination with many short-term activities,” as well as “a home base that is uniquely Suffolk.” Members from the architectural team stood up in front of the crowd answering questions, as well as showing floor plans and other ideas for the space.

“We really want to create a place that’s central to your social life,” said Chu Foxlin, adding, “we want to combine something that’s new and that’s old.” The cafeteria, which will be located around historic spots of Boston, hopes to be a state of the art location, while remembering the identity of the area.

When construction goes ahead, the new space will be to the left of the back entrance of the building, where students now enter to get to the library. When a student walks in, they will see stairs to their left, which will lead down into the cafeteria. A social lounge will be at the top of the stairs. The space should be fully equipped with wi-fi as well as green-friendly.

Since Beacon Street is on a hill, the cafeteria will include windows that get higher and higher, giving the sense of going underground. Foxlin joked in front of the crowd saying “at one point, we thought of calling this café ‘Six Feet Under’.”

The last part of the presentation featured team member Jill Garzik asking students for their input on a few choices for furniture as well as giving students an idea of what type of chairs and tables could be in the space. Garzik mentioned to the crowd that the tables being used will have tabletops.featuring a number of different images, such as those of old buildings in the area or even art inspired by the street art movement in Boston like famed street artist Shepard Fairey.

Student Government Association (SGA) member and new Suffolk graduate, Jordan Nye, asked Garzik, “Is there any way we can use artwork from NESAD?” Garzik immediately replied with great enthusiasm, stating, “Being a former NESAD student, I’m sure that would be something NESAD students would love.” However, the point was made that there might not be enough time to do this, since planned construction will happen over the summer, and the date to order the tables, June 1st, is fast approaching.

SGA Vice President-elect Nick DiZoglio, 2011, asked about entertainment purposes for the space, which will be kept open after cafeteria hours so that on-campus events could take place.

Senior Christina Panagiotakos stated, “Something that I think would go very well would be a projector that could come down for baseball games.” Provost Barry Brown responded very positively to the idea. Suffolk does not have on-campus viewings of Red Sox games or any other sporting events.

Provost Barry Brown ended the meeting, saying that, “We’re very excited about this, and I will spend my days there when it’s done.” Brown also said that the university hopes to develop more of these spaces in the next year or so, and that construction of this space should be completed by the time students return for the fall semester.