The plaza planned to better integrate the space between the Bryan Center, West Union Building and Chapel has transformed from a grandiose plan to reshape the student center of Duke’s campus into a pared-down beautification of the Bryan Center walkway. But given the University’s current priorities, the scaling back of the original “student village” project—that in its earliest incarnations included a drastic reallocation of student gathering spaces—correctly fits within Duke’s new vision for campus-wide student life.

Since Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, first envisioned the integrative space, Duke administrators have decided that developing Central Campus into the hub of life is a bigger priority. Given financial constraints—student affairs has yet to cement money for the plaza—and the scale of the Central project, the administration is right in shifting money to Central while not neglecting one of the campus’ biggest eyesores.

Moneta and the administration received criticism for the delay, but given the changing priorities and the massive task of fundraising, the wait allowed key administrators time to better understand how it fits into student life goals. The current walkway is evidence that is it sometimes difficult to understand a space’s use in the planning process, and the extra time seems to have allowed architects and administrators to refine their plans both in the context of other University decisions and the space’s uses.

Ultimately, the University decided to move many of the components of the village to the new Central campus as part of a landmark effort to transform this current vacuum into the social hub of campus life.

Even though many of the village components will ultimately reside on Central, planners and administrators must not lose sight of the problems with the current walkway and space. The plaza, slated to open in Fall 2006, is a widened and beautified walkway to the Bryan Center, and it must be an inviting space that brings Duke’s main student center closer to the core of campus.

Moneta has referred to the Bryan Center as an “airport,” which students use for its services but do not gather in. One of the plaza’s goals should be helping to integrate the Bryan Center better into campus.

Although the plaza project does not include major renovations of either the Bryan Center or the West Union Building, administrators should not forget about these buildings because they house important and difficult-to-access spaces.

Although the costs are high and the walkway is not part of the current plan, a promenade along the wall of the Great Hall stretching through the current Flowers Building and onto Chapel Quad is an important addition.

If all goes well, the new plaza will take care of the necessary improvements while leaving Duke with money and flexibility to do bigger things on Central.