by Kristin Proulx Jarvis ’06G
Scott Jarvis Photo.
Learn more about Van Hartman—the Man Behind the Name. Or find out more about the HUB.
According to Terri Potter, director of the Hartman Union Building, there is no “typical day” at the HUB. But if there were, it would look something like this:
6:30 a.m.
Sleepy, die-hard exercisers begin making their way to the weight machines on the first floor and the whirring treadmills overlooking the Court Room’s buffed floor.
7:30 a.m.
The Sidewalk Café opens, and students with 8 a.m. classes begin to trickle in for their morning caffeine boost.
9:30 a.m.
Scott Jarvis Photo.
The formerly quiet Pawsway teems with life: vendors set up tables, hoping to entice students; student organization representatives lay out brownies, cookies, and breads for bake sale fundraisers; a crew arranges chairs and microphones for an event in the Fireplace Lounge.
The bagel-and-coffee line at the Sidewalk Café now stretches out the door. Faculty and staff meetings are underway in the conference rooms upstairs. A few students sit at green and white umbrella tables next to a wall of windows, reading textbooks or clicking away at laptops. Others shoot hoops in the Court Room.
Jon Gilbert Fox Photo.
11:30 a.m.
The lunch crowd arrives at the Mountain View Snack Bar, grabbing pizza slices, salads, sodas, and soft-serve ice cream. Professors sit in tight groups at tables with their colleagues, stopping their conversations to chat with students passing by. On sunny days, students take their lunches and books outside to the Alumni Green, where they can hear the sounds of acoustic guitars and dodge footballs and Frisbees sailing through the air.
The WPCR deejays and The Clock journalists filter in from classes, ready to start the next radio show or newspaper issue. A dozen students fill the Court Room with the sounds of squeaking sneakers and bouncing basketballs. The weight room is packed.
3:00 p.m.
A few students catch naps on the couches in the Fireplace Lounge. On cold days, they enjoy the warmth of the fire. Many check e-mail and type papers in the computer cluster. Others shop the bookstore for a new PSU sweatshirt or a snack.
Jon Gilbert Fox Photo.
Evening
The meeting rooms are full of activity as student organizations—PSU has dozens of them—gather to discuss, plan, and play. The Gaming Club meets two nights a week, 7 p.m. until midnight, to play the latest board games, role-playing games, and card games. On deadline nights, The Clock staffers stay until the wee hours as well, writing, editing, and formatting their weekly newspaper to get ready for their 5,000 readers. The Student Senate is another occasional late-night HUB occupant.
Midnight
HUB building managers—specially-trained students—patrol the rooms and hallways, gently ushering the late night crowd out of the building. It’s closing time. The frenzied crowds are gone, and the HUB will rest. Until those joggers, weightlifters, and coffee devotees return in just a few hours.
