​So close we can taste it

With students just about at their limits with the same Au Bon Pain sandwiches and almost regular orders of Merchants-on-Points vendors, last Friday’s announcement of the West Union vendors came as a pleasant reminder to students that another of many construction changes on campus is nearing its end. Starting in the spring and opening fully in the fall, the West Union will soon benefit the entire Duke community in more ways than one. We look optimistically on the ways the West Union will enrich our social and campus experiences on the Plaza, lift our hearts as we finally can walk right from main quad to Panda Express and fill our stomachs with new offerings.

First, the West Union will completely change the options students have for where to spend their time. The addition of both academic and leisure spaces will contribute to the development of more convenient study habits and relaxation routines. Many students have been frustrated at one point or another with seeing all the Link’s group study rooms in use or all the tables packed in Perkins. Spaces in the West Union will help relieve congested spaces and provide added convenience by closing the distance between study spaces, social areas and food vendors. In further terms of spatial transformation, students should recall the effects that the West Union will have outside its immediate walls. The space in the BC now occupied by ABP will be home to soft seating for studying and relaxing, and Penn Pavilion will turn into a luxurious and clean looking event space.

But the end of the West Union’s construction will moreover completely revitalize the Bryan Center Plaza. Seniors and juniors should vaguely but fondly remember when club tabling, dancing, music and socializing defined the Plaza’s atmospheric norms, but almost none of our freshmen and sophomores have ever felt the heart of campus beating in all its glory. With the West Union, more convenient pathways will grant us easier access to our classes, and we believe the mere sight of foot traffic through main quad will put a spring in our step as campus is sewn back together. But while you are passing through, hopefully you will stop to chat or grab a bite to eat on the Duke agora because no appraisal of the West Union would be complete without a gastronomic analysis.

Many upperclassmen still lament the loss of their traditional eating spaces and favorite vendors. The administration has commendably made efforts to amend the situation with food trucks, Merchants-on-Points and Penn Pavilion. But while these fixed the lack of places to get food to eat, they, mostly the former two, did not go far in fixing how students can get food socially. Though the Plaza seating is plentiful and often crowded at peak hours and Penn also has ample seating, we have all felt the sadness of sitting alone in one of the forlorn tables outside Panda Express or ordering food to eat in our dorm rooms. With the West Union, we welcome the return of a truly spectacular communal dining hall where we can break bread with our friends.

Of course, there are some reservations to be had. We find a little wanting to be had in the vendor decisions. Enzo’s, which is already on the Merchants-on-Points program, and Sitar Indian Cuisine, currently already featured in Penn Pavilion, seemed like choices that were not new to campus. Additionally, Saladelia’s Café and Fares Hannah’s Three Seasons Catering will hopefully differentiate themselves from the umbrella organizations’ multiple other locations on campus. But even with these grievances in mind, the scale of the West Union project promises to overwhelmingly enrich our Duke experience. With the millions invested in improving the heart of campus, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic as future developments open.