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The Gavel's Diatribe acts as the satirical medium for short rants over topics ranging from complete triviality to utmost importance.
When it comes to BC Dining’s closure of the “Eagle On the Fly” upstairs in Lower dining hall and their subsequent opening of “The Market @ Corcoran” downstairs, there is a lot to unpack. Rather than dive into the validity of poke bowls and fancier coffee as new dining options, I want to focus this article on something I think all BC students can agree upon (besides the fact that not a single student calls Lower “Corcoran Commons”): BC’s utterly ridiculous execution of this project.
Where do I even begin? Last semester, without warning, BC Dining decided to close Eagle On The Fly. “Okay, that makes sense since they opened a new one downstairs, right?” you might think to yourself. If only that were the case. Despite having the entire summer to construct this new mart, when we all came back to BC in August, it was clear that construction had only just started. Thus, even though the new market was nowhere near completion, the Eagle on the Fly upstairs closed, leaving students with nowhere to turn to buy our sustenance: pints of Ben & Jerry's and ramen.
If every construction project or upgrade to an existing facility operated this way, there would be a lot of problems throughout the world. Need to build a new hospital? Okay, close down the old one for the next few years and stop caring for any current patients! Upgrading the D Line? No need for a shuttle service—people can walk! Given that BC doesn’t even have any plans for the Eagle on the Fly space, and left all of their shelves, equipment, and even some food (which was doomed to an unfortunate fate) in the store, it is clear that there were zero reasons to shut down the old store before the new market even opened!
Now, let’s talk about the actual design of the new market. Walk into the market and the first thing you see is that there are no actual shelves—the only storage they have for the traditional items previously sold in Eagle on the Fly are a few wired racks, the same kind every single Mod has. In moving to a new location, the “Market @ Corcoran” also decreased the number of products being sold—down to maybe 50% of what the previous store sold. I don’t think a single person could justifiably call this new store an upgrade. Imagine removing 2 of the wheels of a car, but instead offering heated seats and a built-in WiFi hotspot. Sure, they are nice to have, but in removing 50% of the wheels, you are ruining the car! Adding coffee and poke bowls is a nice addition, but creating an entirely new, smaller space with fewer products to do so is absolutely ridiculous.
Why is this store so small you might ask? Because they built it in the middle of the busiest (and smallest) main dining hall on campus! To create the new market, BC Dining had to remove an entire corner of seating in the back. Sure, they added counters and high chairs along the wall, but this new bar-like seating comes nowhere near to replacing all that was removed. It is also impossible for groups to sit in these seats unless you enjoy talking to a wall rather than your friend, who is now too far away to talk to.
Like the signs posted everywhere around Lower early last semester that stated “OPENING SOON” (spoiler alert—it didn’t open soon), this entire market is a disappointment. With a larger and already existing room upstairs, they could have simply added a counter for the new coffee and dining options upstairs and achieved the same exact effect. It is clear to me that this market is representative of BC Dining’s mismanagement—from ruining Late Night at Lower, to buying cheaper and lower quality chicken tenders, and now to this new market, I just want one thing: for BC Dining not to ruin everything they “improve.” Is that too much to ask?
