DU Buildings Are Now Open To All - At Last!

All of the buildings on the University of Denver campus are open to the public for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Up until now, anyone who entered a DU building had to first take a Covid test, quarantine for 7 to 10 months (or something like that), and then apply to the ID office to obtain clearance, which would then allow that person to unlock the various doors on campus using their DU ID card. I myself wanted to access the bookstore to buy an academic copy of Photoshop Elements, as an official DU retiree, but after learning the procedure involved, I said the hell with it.

With this big change, I can now legally walk right into DU's new student center. I have visited the building several times already, but had to sneak in as someone was coming out. This new student center replaces what was called Driscoll North, which was built back in 1984, the year I started working at the DU Bookstore. The bookstore, where I worked for almost 30 years as the Finance Manager before the store was outsourced to Follett Higher Education Group (hence my "retirement"), is located in Driscoll South, and was connected to Driscoll North (as the new building is now) via the bridge in the photograph on the right. 

The new student center is much bigger than was Driscoll North, but as far as I am concerned, just as ugly. A very modern, cold, purely functional building, although it does have nice outside balconies where students, faculty, and staff can sit, and a very large rooftop patio on the 4th floor. There is also a small event space on that 4th floor with one of the ugliest bars (more like a counter) I have ever seen, where you can buy a brew, go outside, and admire the view. Have none of the architects on this project ever seen a cozy little bar, perhaps called "The Rathskeller," with lots of wood, a fireplace, and cozy seating where someone, especially academics, would actually want to hang out? I guess not. In any case, the last time I was on the rooftop deck was in the winter or early spring, and so I was surprised to see that now that summer is here, there is a wheat field up there, as seen in the photo on the left, with the law school tower looming on the right and the Ritchie Center tower on the left. And DU doesn't even have an agricultural program. I suspect they will simply get some work study students to cut it with sickles when harvest time arrives. Some things never change, do they?