Those looking for a place to sit during the crowded weekday lunch hour at Usdan will now be able to use the Usdan flex space, located on the first floor of the building. The room, which opened at the beginning of the academic year, can seat roughly 70 people.
The area where the flex space is located was formerly a WesStation room. Once mail services moved to the basement of Usdan, the space fell into disuse, prompting a search for a new function.
“Following this [move], a comprehensive needs assessment was conducted, including student surveys and consultations with the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) and the Student Life Committee,” Director of Auxiliary Services Michelle Myers-Brown wrote in an email to The Argus. “The findings indicated that the most effective use of the space would be a flexible area primarily serving as additional dining seating, with the potential to accommodate other activities during non-dining hours.”
While the room is currently used only for additional seating at Usdan between Monday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the space may also be used for events or conferences.
“As operational logistics and technology integration are finalized, the space will also be available for reservations during evenings and weekends,” Myers-Brown wrote. “Approved uses will include student organization meetings, special luncheons (on weekends), and campus events coordinated through the University Events & Conferences and Facility Operations teams.”
The flex room is also being used as a study space and informal meeting room for students outside of dining hours.
“This new space offers increased flexibility and functionality for students,” Myers-Brown wrote. “The design, featuring glass panels and ample natural light, creates a calm, open atmosphere that helps reduce ambient noise, making it ideal for studying, small group discussions, or informal gatherings.”
Myers-Brown noted that the flex space has been well-received by students thus far.
“Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Myers-Brown wrote. “Students have expressed appreciation for the added dining capacity as well as the space’s suitability for quiet studying and informal gatherings. Many have commented on the inviting atmosphere and its value as a multifunctional environment.”
Some students agreed with Myers-Brown’s assessment.
“I think it’s a great study spot,” Tommy Parker ’29 said. “It is a very calm design. There are no distractions, which is nice. I’ve hung out with friends, had dinner, studied.”
However, others had a mixed reaction.
“I thought the opening of this was underwhelming,” Samvit Singhal ’27 said. “If they enact the plan to have a meeting room, that would be nice. But right now the walls are so barren. Maybe they should have places for people to put posters up or something, because it’s just deadening in there, and the design is not super inviting. I do appreciate the fact that they have reutilized the old mailboxes that no one was using into a space that some people can go and eat, but I think they could have done a better job of it.”
Usdan University Center, which opened in 2007, has undergone several recent refurbishments in addition to the flex space, including improved technology in meeting rooms, renovation of the roof and ceiling in the Daniel Family Commons (DFC), new carpeting in the DFC and second-floor dining rooms, and the steam to hot water pipe conversion.
Spencer Landers can be reached at sklanders@wesleyan.edu.
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