With lighting that changes from red to blue to purple and a chalkboard that covers the expanse of a wall, a basement room in Russell Sage, the College’s oldest first-year dorm, has been converted into a new social space. Called the Cellar, the space is one of three major renovations made to Russell Sage and Butterfield halls as part of an initiative overseen by the student-run organization Dartmouth Roots to improve residential life.
Dartmouth Roots will host the Cellar’s official opening Thursday night, with live music from student bands Chuck and The Euphemisms and presentations on the renovations.
Dartmouth Roots founder Esteban Castaño ’14 said the organization’s mission is to implement ideas to improve the College. Its first project was to create social spaces for freshmen.
“I think it’s going to be very useful in the fall when freshmen can’t go to Greek houses for the first six weeks to have a space that is their own, to have a space that they can invite performance groups to, that they would want to hang out in,” Castaño said.
The Cellar is part of a plan by Dartmouth Roots to renovate common areas in Russell Sage and Butterfield. The Hyphen common room and kitchen and the Butterfield basement also saw changes, Castaño said.
Russel Sage was “in desperate need” of more social spaces, resident Lucy Zhang ’17 said, citing a lack of “fancy study rooms” like the ones in Fahey Hall and the McLaughlin cluster.
The Hyphen now features increased capacity as a study space, with larger tables and more seating.
Students have decorated the Cellar’s blackboard with chalk, as well as a running tally for what residents would like the new space to be called. As of press time, the current leader is “Shane’s,” referring to much-loved building custodian Shane Brightly.
A sofa, two arm chairs and an ottoman line that side, which is divided from the room’s other half by a high wooden bar with modern red stools.
The other part of the room has sofas assembled in an “L” shape in front of a large flat screen television and features a surround-sound stereo system.
One wall displays a mural by Stuart Lantry ’12. Called “American Pipe Dreams,” the mural was made from mixed media, including wooden boards, pipes and graffiti.
Brightly supported the organization’s desire to renovate spaces in Russell Sage, Castaño said.
In bad weather, Brightly listens to his music over lunch in the Cellar.
Brightly said he believed that there was a lack of common areas for students in the building, adding that the Cellar typically sees more use on weekends.
“I understand that you guys want to go and party and have a good time, but there are some students who don’t want to do that and want to be able to relax and enjoy themselves, to not be under the pressures of drinking,” Brightly said.
Castaño said that the initiative's relevance is reflected in student suggestions on the Improve Dartmouth website, where “Make Res Life ‘Cool’ Again” is a popular recommendation.
Rachel Patel ’17 distinguished the basement from the Hyphen, which she called more of a study space.
Julie Solomon ’17, another Russell Sage resident, said she hangs out in the basement often, working, taking naps and plugging her laptop into the TV.
Russell Sage second-floor undergraduate advisor Walker Sales ’16 said the Cellar will likely see increased use next fall,and will benefit residents by providing a more inclusive social space than students’ rooms.
At Thursday’s event, a dedication ceremony will thank administrators, custodians, staff and students who helped implement the project, Castaño said.
This article has been revised to reflect the following corrections:
Corrections appended May 22, 2014.
EstebanCastaño '14 is the founder, not the co-founder, of Dartmouth Roots. While one of the group's first initiatives was to create social spaces for freshmen, this is not the mission of the organization, as the initial version of this article indicated. Castaño said that student suggestions on Improve Dartmouth reflect the project's necessity, not that they provided the initial motivation.
