Victoria Silman | Assistant News Editor
Featured image courtesy of Chrysa Dancey
On September 19, the New Student Centre made its official debut with a free barbecue; carnival games; and pounds of popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones—all courtesy of YFS.
The Centre features various facilities, including prayer rooms on the fourth floor, meeting rooms on the main floor, dance rooms, yoga studios, comfortable lounges, and study spaces (to name a few), however the defining feature that sets it apart from the old Centre is a reception desk with personnel on site every day.
Luxshie Vimalvswaran, a second-year kinesiology student, and a receptionist at the student centre explained the ins-and-outs and what to expect.
According to her, there is plenty of study space on the second and third floors, prayers rooms all along the fourth floor, and a cafe that is scheduled to open soon. “It isn’t open yet—I’m excited for that. It’s going to be on the first floor,” she explains.
The New Student Centre website also states the building features the first urban plaza on campus, located on the south side of the building.
The opening day saw hoards of students rush for all the free items, games, and bouncy castles. However, the event fell on a Jewish holiday which resulted in the exclusion of a large population of students. Celia Lewin, a third-year biomedical student was one of those students. She explains: “the celebrations at the New Student Centre were held on the holy Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, meaning most Jewish students were unable to attend.”
Among those who were able to attend was Augustine Browne, a fourth- year nursing student. “I think the centre is visually appealing. I haven’t been inside of it much. I don’t know all the ins-and-outs of it yet, but I heard it’s a great place to hang out. I’m excited to explore it more,” he says.
Echoing his sentiment is Althea Zerrudo, a first-year classical studies student: “It looks really nice. The structural and architectural aspects of the New Student Centre look modern and it’s really bright inside. It has a very chill vibe.”
On the other hand, some students find the appearance a bit comical, including Bo Singh, a former York student who just began studying computer science at Seneca College. “On the outside, it kind of looks like an AC unit. The top looks like the intake fins, and the bottom looks like the rest of it,” he quips.
Furthermore, everyone knows York is a crowded campus. Finding a spot in Scott Library to study is always a battle—and when you do find a spot, it’s rarely quiet. Many students agree that the New Student Centre is giving students more opportunities for quiet study spaces and common areas.
The centre’s website explains that study space on the Keele campus will increase by 10 per cent with the addition of the new centre—a significant number for a highly populated campus.
Adeel Ahmad, a fourth-year kinesiology student explains the architecture mixes with the functionality, stating: “I think the building is a lot better—the floors, and the floor plan are very elegant and beautiful. That’s the first thing that stands out to me.
“Other than that, I think the functionality and vibe are a lot better. There’s a lot more for students. It’s made for students if you want a place to sit, or if you want to go have coffee. Functionality wise, it’s a lot better than the existing student centre,” he continues.
Zerrudo expressed similar feelings about the centre’s design, describing its spaciousness as refreshing for the campus: “I think the New Student Centre is a lot more welcoming and it certainly provides more space for students,” she explains.
Though a cafe is coming soon, the official date has yet to be announced. As for other food options, some students wish there were more to choose from, like in the existing centre.
“There’s no food options. The other student centre is basically all food—this one doesn’t have anything. I think a coffee shop would be good,” explains Lital Schvarsberg, a second-year kinesiology student.
Despite the lack of options, students are still expected to use the centre on a frequent basis, primarily because of the spaciousness.
Explaining how often he plans on using the centre, Browne says he’ll use it depending on whether he feels comfortable in the space. “It’ll either be there or the health science building that I spend time in between classes. I might use it two days a week.”
Will Astopolos, a Seneca student also plans on using the facility. “If there are private rooms, then I’ll use it often,” he explains. “A lot of the studying I do is in groups so I don’t want to just be in a corner being loud and rowdy and disturbing people.”
The old student centre had some features that students want returned. The couches on the upper floors were removed this summer, and many people have noticed, including Lexie Simoes, a fifth-year psychology and sexual studies student.
“Any changes to the old centre would be to bring back the couches. They were a good place for people to meet up for group work.
“The old centre is more of a social area, especially with downstairs being so loud. You can’t get anything done, and the people eating aren’t that respectful of those who want to study there,” says Simoes.
Along with the new Centre comes heightened security measures, which students have taken note of.
While receptionists man the desks of the new Centre, the existing centre has installed an access card system, so only those in possession of a card are able to get into the centre between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. Furthermore, security has also had a more significant presence in the centre, which some students feel isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I guess having more security means you’re safer, especially because people are talking about this area being dangerous. I think having more security means there are more people watching out for us,” explains Lisa Nguyen a social work student in her first year.
Zerrudo says: “I definitely do feel safe because I see a lot of York security in the student centre. I see them everywhere—it’s nice to know that there is someone protecting us.”
An incident in the “First Student Centre” on September 19 brought forth various opinions about the presence of security in the centre, with sentiments arising from students and YFS alike.
According to a statement provided by YFS, Toronto Police Services (TPS), along with York security were involved in an interaction with a member of the York community. They state: “The York University Student Centre experienced an overwhelming presence of TPS as well as York Security personnel when responding to a call on campus. TPS barricaded and entrapped a Black community member in the First Student Centre.
“The actions demonstrated by TPS in the space resulted in an incredibly dangerous and unsafe environment,” the statement continues.
Furthermore, YFS reiterates: “we are committed to holding our York Security Services, and our Toronto Police Services, accountable, to ensure they are responding in such a way that is putting our identities in the forefront of their response.”
While some students agree with this sentiment, other students, such as Zerrudo, feel the response was justified, and that heightened security is the best response.
“It makes me feel a little more safe. Of course it’s not a good have to think that there was an incident on campus, but if you look at it from another perspective there were people there. The police were ready for the situation,” she explains.
At the time of publication, no record of the incident could be found in the TPS database.
