By MATT JONES ‘17
Last spring, students making their way to Rade Dining Hall passed signs that read “Danger! Do Not Enter” due to the renovations on the stage in Rade Dining Hall. The former home of the rap battles and Christmas Food Drive is now only a memory for Ignatius students. What happened to the historic Rade Dining Hall stage? It has been turned into an efficient storage facility.
Why was the stage redone? Mr. Klingshirn ‘79, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, was in charge of the project. He asserts that the use of the stage was inefficient, and it was obvious if we took a “look behind the blue curtain.”
“The stage was wasted space, and space is a premium on this campus,” he said. Behind the curtain was a place to store junk.” Although the stage was used for entertainment and practical purposes, it is clear that the space is better utilized for storage.
To combat this wasted space, the stage was changed into a center for delivery. Mr. Klingshirn states, “The area is now basically storage, delivery, and receiving.” The reason for this Rade renovation is connected to the construction on Carroll Avenue. The old center for deliveries was the basement of the main building, but trucks can’t access the main building anymore due to the construction. Mr. Klingshirn reasons that although they have been talking about this renovation for years, this year it was needed, “It has been something we’ve wanted to do; now we did it out of necessity because trucks can’t go down Carroll.”
Sometimes the best changes come from necessity; The new storage facility is “clean, well-lit, and functional” according to Mr. Klingshirn. It features many storage rooms and is already being utilized. The chapel parking lot is another advantage for delivery trucks, and the facility’s double doors open directly to the lot, making deliveries convenient.
Although students will always relish the memory of the old stage, Mr. Klingshirn assures that a new plan is underway to add visual flavor to Rade: “A world map with all the Jesuit institutions of the world is going up on the big wall.”
This new exciting addition doesn’t have an exact timeframe, but students are already showing their excitement. Shivam Patel ‘17 comments, “I think that the map is a really cool idea that will make Rade a lot more interesting.” All in all, although the old Rade stage is gone, the new world map will be a great addition to the dining hall.
