By Ricky Thompson
A patchwork of flags representing all 191 members of the United Nations serves to represent the university’s “diverse and international campus,” as the school celebrates the Curry Student Center’s 40th year of operation.
“I think it’s going to be a very exciting addition to what the student center stands for,” said Dirk Rodricks, associate director of student center operations, in last week’s News. “The tapestry will represent all that international students and the international community means to Northeastern.”
Throughout February, the university has been commemorating the rich history of the student center, or what the building’s staff calls the “campus crossroads.” The community is focusing on the center’s commitment to student life and “bringing 40 years into perspective for what it means to all of us,” Rodricks said.
The campaign’s signature event, the unveiling of the tapestry Feb. 16 in the indoor quad, acknowledged the center’s achievements and observed its commitment to the student community. The ceremony was scheduled to coincide with the International Student Scholar Institute’s “International Marketplace” as part of its annual International Carnevale. The Student Center Governing Board, in addition to Philomena Mantella, senior vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, and President Emeritus John Curry, were all on-hand for the occasion.
To the university, the tapestry symbolizes “not only the diversity, but also the overall international flavor” of the student center, said Director of Operations Bob Grier.
“Ever since I’ve been here, the students who are involved have wanted to make a statement about [the university’s] international diversity,” he said.
Grier, who has worked in the student center since 1975, said the concept for incorporating the university’s international impact into a tapestry was suggested last year by the building’s governing board.
“The issue of putting up flags or national signs of other countries has always been there ever since I can remember,” he said. “Students have thought about it, they have debated about it and finally they got it accomplished, so this was a major milestone.”
Initial feedback to the project has been positive.
“I was able to contact about 12 alumni who were involved with [the Curry Student Center] throughout the years and they are all excited,” Grier said. “Former chairs, and executive board members, as well as students who were just involved and connected to the Curry Student Center are all excited that we have accomplished this and brought in a strong statement of international connection with the university.”
When he began here 30 years ago, Grier said “a lot of excitement” still surrounded the building 10 years after its construction.
“The university was then mostly a commuter institution, so the student center was like a rest stop where students would come before and after classes,” he said.
Since then, the student center has remained “the dynamic place of student organizations and popular for students who are doing their thing – eating, studying and participating in activities … like no other building on campus,” Grier said.
Nicole Martino, the Student Government Association’s vice president for student services, participated in hosting the Feb. 16 unveiling.
“It was meant to be a passive program so students walking through the student center could enjoy it throughout the day,” she said.
Martino said the event had been in the works for about a month prior and was planned to allow “a sense of all the other international programming happening that week.”
Above all, Grier said after 40 years, he maintains that the student center “has made a connection with every student that has passed through its doors.”
“I’m still sometimes amazed as I see hundreds of kids involved there at night, dancing, playing, talking, hanging out, studying – that is the essence of it,” he said. “The commitment students have to the center is really phenomenal.”
