The Pomona College North Campus lounge located on Eversole Courtyard, popularly known as “Grooveline,” underwent thorough renovations last summer, and is currently available for any type of gathering. Though students have had trouble accessing the lounge due to a faulty card reader, Associate Dean of Students and Dean of Campus Life Ric Townes said the problem will soon be resolved.
Townes said he does not remember having any discussions about restrictions on usage of the lounge, and that the administration’s aim was not to dissuade or stop students from using the lounge as a space to throw parties. The lounge is currently open to such gatherings as well as any other type of gathering.
Last summer, as part of large-scale renovations to Pomona College’s Norton-Clark and Clark III dorms, the lounge was gutted and refurbished. In place of the former party venue and summer furniture storage facility, there is now a kitchen lounge as well as the Heritage Lounge.
Assistant Vice President and Director of Campus Services Bob Robinson said the construction team installed new lighting, carpeting, and furnishings and put in a full kitchen.
Townes said the decision to stop using the lounge as furniture storage during the summer was made several years ago, and, more recently, the administration decided they wanted to make it into a more “welcoming” area.
“What we were trying to do was create a new space,” he said. “On North Campus, there weren’t a lot of lounges.”
He said the goal was to provide a multi-functional venue—for meetings, programs, or even for professors to give talks.
However, students have encountered some problems with card readers. Only students with Norton-Clark card access can currently swipe into the lounge.
Ben Conway PO ’10, a resident of Norton-Clark, said this has caused some problems with security.
“Lots of people use it for baking who don’t live in Norton-Clark,” he said, adding he thinks they may enter the lounge through a window that looks out over the adjacent courtyard. “Lots of people leave the window open because it’s so hard to get in.”
He said it would make sense for the lounge to be open to all Pomona students, like the other lounges on campus. If Pomona students had card access, “people wouldn’t leave the window open,” he said, and people from off-campus would not be able to get in.
Townes said he had envisioned the lounge as accessible to all North Campus residents, and was not aware of the card reader issue until very recently. He said this problem will be resolved shortly.