Recent renovations at Davison Dining Hall have sparked some controversy among students on the anonymous ‘Yik Yak’ app. Student complaints and commentary have been made regarding the new chairs and tables at Davison and the unexpected redesign.
With questions looming over the design change in Davison Hall, Esther Reed of AVI Foodsystems said that the switch out of tables and chairs was absolutely necessary. “The tables and chairs were over 40 years old,” Reed said, “with several pieces missing and a decline in stability.” Although the furniture had lasted for decades and through generations of students, “replacing it was necessary to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests,” Reed said.
With the necessity of changing the dining hall furniture, “the decision to upgrade the dining furniture was made collaboratively by the school’s leadership team and dining services,” Reed said, and “there was unanimous agreement that upgrade was essential, both to enhance the overall aesthetic of the dining hall and its functionality.” Whether or not the appearance is suitable to taste, the upgrade was necessary to ensure the safety of those visiting the dining hall.
Tables and chairs are not the only changes to Davison’s renovation, and “further enhancements are part of our ongoing plan beyond the tables and chairs including new paint and new ceiling tiles,” Reed said, to continue aesthetic renovations of Saint Anselm’s main dining hall.
Student reactions discussing opinions on the changes made in Davison have been provided through anonymous comments filtering through ‘Yik Yak’, the app popularly used by Saint Anselm students.
An anonymous post commented on the method of disposal for the old tables and chairs, and said “the thing that bothers me the most about the new tables and chairs is the fact that they are just tossing them in the dumpster. What happened to the school preaching donating furniture? Isn’t that what the FCF drive is for?”
Regarding the method of disposal for the tables and chairs, another anonymous student said on ‘Yik Yak’ that alongside donating the furniture to FCF they could even “auction them off [because] people would pay.” Much concern looms over the methods of switching the furniture out of Davison, and students are giving consideration and input to the alternative approaches they feel could have been used.
Though the FCF drive is a great opportunity to bring donatable food, clothing, and furniture, “the damage to both the tables and chairs was too extensive to reuse,” Reed said, so “we unfortunately had to dispose of the old tables instead of repurposing them.”
Other students anonymously expressed their sadness or anger at the change, with a student saying “I’m so sad” underneath a photo of the tables in a dumpster outside of Sullivan Arena. Another student said that the change is “absolutely ridiculous,” and that “out of everything for them to spend their budget on, this might be at the bottom of the list of what we need.” Although it was decided that changing the furniture was a necessity, the student body might not necessarily see that.
As ‘Yik Yak’ allows students an open forum to discuss and share commentary with one another, another student anonymously suggested that “everyone better fill out those dining services recommendation cards demanding the old chairs, [and] if they don’t change them back we boycott.” Though dining services is always looking for student feedback and suggestions, this is not a change students will be able to make even if they ask for it.
The major concern amongst students about the changes is the idea surrounding tradition. “For a school so intent on pushing history and appreciation of the past it seems so stupid,” said an anonymous ‘Yik Yak’ post. Change can seem to be against tradition, but dining services aimed to maintain the well-established Anselmian tradition.
“It was important to us during the redesign of the Davison Hall furniture that we maintain the sense of tradition that is cherished by our community. While the design of the new furniture is not exact, we spent a significant amount of time carefully selecting pieces and design features that preserve the warmth and character of real, solid wood, which has always been a hallmark of our campus. Our goal is to blend the best of both worlds—honoring tradition while also ensuring the space is functional and comfortable for the students who will use it for years to come. We greatly value student feedback and recognize the importance of their perspectives. While it is not always possible to accommodate every preference, we hope students understand that this decision was made with careful consideration and is essential for the continued growth and improvement of our campus,” Reed said.