OP-ED: A Lounge Without Shalom

The Contributing Writer of this article has chosen to remain anonymous.


The Shalom Lounge has been recognized by every Hillelian -- as well as each StuCo administration -- as Hillel's greatest public property. It provides area to eat lunch, socialize during free time, study before tests, the list goes on. However, like with most things, there is a line between use and overuse. Its clear that the Shalom Lounge is being overused, misused and abused. If so, why is nobody fighting to conserve it?

In recent times, it appears that our quest for expanding usable space has impinged on the sacred lounge. As more students are added to the school, more Minyan Space needs to allocated to fit them -- slowly expanding the Lunchroom Sephardic Minyan into the lounge. In a drastic move, the majority of the Female Students now pray on former Shalom Lounge territory. This leaves the place in disrepair daily; chairs strewn about.

Overuse by the student body has also brought havoc to the natural resources of the land plot. A survey comparing the 2009-10 school year with the 2010-11 school year shows a drastic decline in comfy chair cushions, and the complete extinction of coffee tables. Ironically, the area has been adorned with photos of students in a happier time. Not only, but the recreational equipment has been retired. The once glorious Ping Pong table has been folded up after all of its balls have been lost and its paddles cracked in half. The dilapidated Foosball table now sits untouched. How did this happen? People took them for granted. The Foosball table quickly became the private playground of Corporate Giant Uriya Teharani -- who never lost a game. While heroes stepped up to fix the games -- such as Eric Vaknin, replacing the net on the Ping Pong table, it was not enough.

Why, you may ask, has the Ovadia Administration not stepped up to conserve the environment? Some say he doesn't have the money. With $2 Frappuchinos, I don't think so. Its probably because he's too scared to confront the problem. He knows that making a change will tick somebody off, and probably would not want to deal with that either.

At this rate, the Shalom Lounge will only be itself nominally for a few years. As the chairs break and the pictures come down, its expected to be annexed by the Lunchroom by the 2013-14 school year. How can this be prevented? That's in your hands.