What You’ll Actually Find When Venturing Into Collis Basement
When Dartmouth students hear “Collis,” they tend to think of late night chicken tenders, DIY smoothies or stir-fry for dinner. There is so much more to our official student center than the café, however, and a variety of students have learned that an excursion downstairs can lead to a new favorite study spot or weekend hangout space. Whether you’re playing pool or hunting for school supplies, a multitude of rooms in Collis basement offer something for everyone.
General Open Area
This is a popular eat-and-study space, with laptops frequently open next to lunches from upstairs. The openness and close proximity to a Green Print station make this a prime work area.
One Wheelock
Home to Kwame’s Open Mic on Wednesdays, One Wheelock’s vibe tends to be similar to that of an actual coffee shop, with free tea and coffee options adding to the effect. Board games are also available at the entrance, though I’ve never seen anyone actually play one. A cozy study spot with a slight hum to its atmosphere, this space can be a great spot to curl up with a textbook on a rainy day while drinking hazelnut coffee to keep you from falling asleep.
Topside
Silly ’17s tend to refer to this little store as “Collis Market,” but if you’re a wise upperclassman you’ll stick to the classic name (it only makes sense — it’s not like the cashier asks you, “Collis Market or DASH?”). Apparently the name changed when the market moved from the ground floor to downstairs Collis. Regardless, Topside is a nice resource for grabbing a toothbrush or some Ben and Jerry’s without schlepping all the way down to CVS (which is obviously way too far without a car). When it’s open, that is; I’ve stopped by in the past after checking the hours online only to find the market randomly closed.
8 Ball Hall
I just learned at the beginning of this term that the room of pool tables, foosball and arcade-style video game machines has an actual name. The space used to belong to FUEL, a mysterious entity I was introduced to during my Dimensions weekend via a poster advertising a dance party there and then again through an open a cappella rehearsal my freshman fall. I then promptly forgot about it until I noticed the new name recently and, despite my ignorance, I think the space is being put to good use. One wall is devoted entirely to chalk drawings, and the chairs and tables around the outside provide more mealtime seating in addition to the recreational space. Hopefully now that I’m more informed my future as a pool shark can begin to take shape.
TV Room
Can you guess what’s in this room? The extent of my experience with this room-with-a-television-in-it was one time when my friend and I ran out of options for places to eat our Collis pasta; we headed downstairs, found nothing and ended up spotting the TV Room with all its lights off. Interestingly enough, two people were in the room when we walked in, sitting in separate seats and just talking in the dark. The situation was weird, but we were hungry and out of options so my friend and I sat down anyway. I guess I’m not very qualified to give an accurate description of this room’s character, but the seating is nice if you’re looking for a really secluded place to eat or watch TV. Just please keep the lights on so we’re all comfortable.
Mysterious Doors
There’s the men’s restroom, there’s the women’s restroom, and then there’s the unmarked door with a corkboard on it scrawled with black marker asking for everyone to “Please keep this door locked, thanks.” Several other grey doors with nothing to distinguish them as leading anywhere suggest that there’s even more to Collis basement than the average student could ever imagine.