Calling All Hounds Back to the Doghouse!

By Rebecca Eisenstein ‘16

For years, students at Moravian University have been asking for a student space—a space where they could hang out in between classes without going back to their rooms, or without having to be quiet in the library. This year, their requests were heard.

There is a peculiar space in the basement of Zinzendorf Hall that you get to through an unmarked door located to the right of the front of the building. From the looks of it, the space isn’t much. When I first entered the stairway, the first thing I noticed was the dingy smell—oh that smell! Then when you finally got downstairs, it was clear that the space hadn’t seen much traffic for a while. Indeed, all that had been left was a stained, flowered couch parked sadly in the corner on a carpet that had faded from some sort of blue to a shade of brown. And the walls—what was once noticeably white were now complemented only by the rotting white ceiling. What did this space used to be?

After some digging, I found out. The space used to be one of the most popular spaces on campus. It was regularly filled with students just hanging out and having fun when it opened in the late 80s. Greek organizations on campus used to take turns providing late night snacks to students on Thursdays and weekends, which begged the question: why couldn’t it be resurrected to be once again a fun space for students?

Over the summer, the United Student Government (USG) began discussing plans to fix up the space and return it to its original purpose. In order to do so, we had to start by gutting the place. After a fresh coat of paint, new hardwood floors, new ceilings, a new sound system, a new media system, and putting in a drink shelf with stools, the space finally looked like something that could be useful once again, but with upgrades. It now includes AirPlay technology and is complete with a swipe system so students can go into the space when they want to. It also has a stage for performers, new couches, tables, and energy-efficient LED lights.

The possibilities of a room like this are endless, but now that it exists, students and faculty need to know it is available to them. We are hoping that USG will continue ownership of the freshly-minted Doghouse and will continue to work its way back to being the place it once was: a gathering spot extraordinaire. So once again, start dreaming, Moravian.