Since Sarner Underground opened over a year ago, students and organizations have used the space for concerts, dance parties and student gatherings. Unlike other meeting spaces on campus, only undergraduate students and organizations are permitted to use Sarner.
Collis Center director Eric Ramsey said student groups are satisfied with the increased capacity of the space, especially compared with previous on-campus venues. Sarner, which consists of two event spaces, two lounges and a meeting room, can accomodate 300 people. Collis’s FUEL space, which was transformed into the 8-Ball Hall Game Room last spring, could only accommodate 84 people.
“We’ve really tried with Sarner Underground to provide a space that could serve all sorts of purposes,” Ramsey said.
Friday Night Rock booking manager Matt Garczynski ’14 said the space has allowed FNR to hold bigger shows and attract more people.
“As our organization grew, we needed a larger space for our performances,” Garczynski said. “Sarner accommodates us perfectly.”
Unlike other event spaces on campus, Sarner was designed to target undergraduate students.
“Dartmouth needs clean, comfortable social spaces for undergraduate students to hang out with at all times,” Ramsey said.
Kappa Delta sorority, whose house is currently under construction, uses Sarner for its weekly meetings because it has more space than other on-campus locations, Yoanna Zheng ’15 said.
“There is enough space and not much reflections of sound, unlike Fahey’s lounge, which is so loud once it’s packed,” Zheng said.
Mira Liu ’15, who recently attended Karaoke Night hosted by Students of Hong Kong at Sarner, said the space has a “very casual vibe.”
While students generally offered positive impressions of Sarner, some said the space could be better advertised. Some students who attend FNR concerts have trouble finding its physical location.
“It is a little bit set back.” Garczynski said, “We try to put up a sign outside that glows to help people find the way.”
Sarner may not be an ideal space for large-scale meetings, since the space is segmented into smaller rooms, Xinyue Guo ’14 said. Zheng agreed that Collis Common Ground may be a better choice for social events with a bigger audience.
Apoorva Dixit ’17 said the H-Croo peformance at Sarner during First-Year Trips helped publicize its location.
“Once you say that’s where we went for Trips, everybody knows where that is.” Dixit said, “But other than that, freshmen students don’t really know it well.”
Sarner was a popular social space for first-year students before the GLC ban on first year students entering Greek houses was lifted, but has since declined in popularity.
Because Sarner is new, it will take time for the space to establish its identity and reputation on campus.
“It’s an extremely busy space already, with lots of events going on, and I expect that will continue to grow,” Ramsey said, “As Sarner starts to develop its sense of identity among other social spaces. The nature of Sarner is to be ever changing for the needs of Dartmouth students.”
Garczynski is a former member of The Dartmouth staff.
