After spending the first two years of my collegiate life anxiously awaiting the completion of the Smith Campus Center, I was tremendously disappointed with the finished product when it finally opened last year. I had been hoping for a dramatic improvement over the makeshift student center that operated from 1997 to 1999 in Walker lounge and fishbowl, which, although cramped and removed from much of the campus, had a very friendly, communal atmosphere.

The new Smith Center, in contrast, was sprawling, sterile, and so fragmented that its component parts seemed to be entirely separate entities. Many students complained that they felt uncomfortable just being in the building, particularly in the spacious yet overwhelmingly drab central courtyard. Others were discouraged by the seemingly poor layout which separates sections of the campus center that are often used together. In order to shoot pool while eating food from the Coop, for example, a circuitous trek along both floors of the walkway bordering the courtyard is necessary in order to pass between rooms that are vertically adjacent.

Other rooms in the campus center seem to have been designed without their intended purpose in mind. The basement social room, for instance, is far too clean, harshly lit, and oddly shaped to encourage any sort of normal socializing. The fireplace lounge, one of the primary multi-use rooms, boasts a spacious interior that is much better suited to a piano recital than a cozy evening in front of a fire. Throw in a central mail room that is smaller than the old facility in Wig (which served only three dorms), and the Smith Campus Center leaves students with more than enough topics for complaining.

That being said, I must say, I really like the Smith Campus Center. I have spent countless hours of late buried in the oversized sofas in the first-floor TV lounge, munching on a good old #4 meal and watching the Sacramento Kings on cable. Like many of the formerly barren rooms in the building, the lounge has undergone a very successful renovation. The rooms are more decorated, their walls now adorned with student art and objects from Pomona’s history. The courtyard now benefits from large potted trees and outdoor heaters, which are terrific when working. While the décor of the campus center may not always be in the style that I would have chosen, the overall effect is the softening of a previously unwelcoming building.

The game room, which is still fairly inaccessible, received the biggest facelift of all. It has turned from a minimum-security prison rec-room into a mini-exhibit of Pomona memorabilia. The addition of photos, artifacts, and anecdotes from Pomona’s past, some of which are actually pretty interesting, along with a large mural of Walker Wall, serves to make the game room a comfortable and generally pleasant place to, well, play games. I do not intend this article to be a PR piece for Pomona, nor an ode to Neil Gerard’s genius. I simply feel that Pomona has managed to recover fairly well from a near-catastrophe for a campus center. Granted, it was our fair college that paid to have the thing built in the first place, and for that reason I hesitate to praise Pomona for its improvements.

The fact remains, however, that despite all of the student body’s (well-founded) complaints, the Smith Center is beginning to find its niche in Pomona’s campus life. Table Manners provides a legitimate social activity every week and seems to be the perfect use for the awkwardly designed basement social room. CCLA parties in the Ballroom have been held quite frequently this year, with varying degrees of success. Last year’s tri-college art show showcased the attractiveness and spaciousness of the Ballroom perfectly, and remains one of the finest parties in recent memory. Even the courtyard, which once was once disturbingly cold, now fills with students between classes. Still, there are many improvements that could easily be made to further improve the quality and comfort of the campus center. The cable connections in the TV lounge and game room, for instance, reek with stolen-cable irregularities. Certain channels are absent (such as TBS), some come and go, and none of the channels correspond to the on-screen cable guide. In addition, something really has to be done about the remoteness of the game room.

What should be one of the most popular rooms on campus is too rarely used. Whether it’s a spiral staircase, a fireman’s pole, or a rope ladder, something has to connect the game room to the rest of the Smith Campus Center.

Most importantly, the center lacks the two components that students were most anxiously awaiting: a bowling alley and a pub. While the bowling alley was mostly the subject of rumor, it would have provided a badly needed on-campus activity that could be enjoyed by all.

The pub, which was a much more concrete plan, would not benefit all students, although it would cater to the students who are most frustrated with the campus social scene, the upperclassmen. Hopefully the college will succeed in attaining a liquor license at some point in the future, and pursue development of an on-campus pub. Considering the respectable degree of success Pomona has had so far in improving the campus center, I imagine that it will truly become the center of campus life within a few years, assuming that the college continue to devote energy and money into the project.