With the D.P. Culp University Center closed since summer of 2018, it’s left a lot of students without a common place to gather and meet other people. Students who have come to ETSU since that summer haven’t even gotten to experience the sense of unity that the Culp Center brought that those who were here remember. The Culp Center created community among students.
For those of us who frequented it before the renovations started, it was a place to run into friendly acquaintances and old friends we lost touch with to catch up with for a few minutes. It was a place where I would recognize faces of strangers I saw repeatedly and feel comforted by the familiar faces. Friends could eat lunch together in the food court area or get a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the Cave, talk and do homework together. So many of the happy moments of my freshman year stem from the time I got to spend with my friends in the Culp Center.
When the Culp Center went under construction it left students, particularly commuter students, scattered around campus or led them to go off campus for lunch or a study spot. However, with the Culp Center open once again, student morale is high because we have a place to freely gather once again.
Walking into the Culp Center for the first time after it reopened, I could feel the excitement from almost everyone there. People were sitting all around, chatting excitedly and trying out the new dining options. I ran into a friend unexpectedly, and it was a happy reminder of what was once a common occurrence my freshman year. One person I talked to told me that he was seeing people that he hadn’t seen since before the renovation.
The reopening of the Culp Center is going to bring the feeling of community back to ETSU. Current students will be reminded of their love for ETSU and rekindle it. Future students will sense that special feeling ETSU has and will make them want to join the community.
