Lumen Summer 2018 - Flipbook - Page 12
LEFT
Student
Michaela McGrath
at the University’s
Hub, North
Terrace
PREVIOUS
Alumnus
Ian Pearson
at the Hub
What it most certainly did not
present was a place to study.
You did that elsewhere.
Rather, the refectories were pivotal
social meeting places. Upstairs, the
facility included a large open area
that hosted lunchtime events,
including a number of fashion
parades. After hours, the whole
complex could be reconfigured for
formal and informal balls that were
regularly held on campus.
Bear in mind that in those days, the
drinking age was still 21, so no Uni
Bar. But that didn’t inhibit the liberal
plotting of student stunts and
protests, some serious student
politics, the potent planning of social
activities, a game or three of cards, a
tad of essential chilling out, together
with a fair share of girl-meets-boy
endeavours. Indeed, your modest
contributor met his future wife
downstairs one fine second-term
morning.
So what about the menu?
To be honest, it’s impossible to recall
much about what was on offer.
Without doubt, there was nothing
exotic such as the smoothies,
dumplings or sushi that there is in
today’s Hub.
All I really recall is the delicious
hot chocolate and the home-made
doughnuts that came with a dollop
of the most delectable fake-cream.
It was a great place and a super
experience.
10
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
Today’s student Hub - a mecca of University life
by Michaela McGrath,
final year Bachelor of Media student
As graduation draws nearer and I
reflect on my University days, the
Hub remains at the heart of so many
cherished experiences.
In an age fractured by the allowances
of video call and instant messaging, it
represents students’ enduring desire
for face-to-face interaction.
Whether over a coffee or group
assignment, the Hub is a place of
meeting and coming together.
There are study environments for all
manner of students, from the
streaming natural light of Level Four
to intimate meeting rooms
downstairs and, most recently, the
quiet nooks on the ground floor.
Beyond pouring over textbooks and
lecture slides, the Hub serves as a
mecca of University life. From bake
sales to Clubs Week, if something is
happening at the Uni it’s likely
happening in the Hub.
Given my generation’s penchant for
brunch, it’s no surprise we flock to
the cafes at any chance we get.
On campus coffee dominates,
especially during the lead up to
exams. Pastries are also a staple, in
abundant supply thanks to the arrival
of Abbots and Kinney.
If I were to whittle my University
experience down to just one culinary
delight, it would be Taste Baguette’s
shoestring fries.
During one particular class in second
year, a group of us would collect
our loose change and race upstairs
during the toilet break to share a tray.
Those trays have become the food
of choice for most groups, looking to
indulge on a student budget.
From a much-needed common
ground on that rattling first day of
first year, to a place of reminiscing
and happy snaps come graduation,
the Hub is at the centre of so many
fond University memories.
