Year after year, students are placed into arbitrary living arrangements. Students usually take their meals in their respective residential colleges and eat these meals with those from the same colleges. In addition, some residential colleges have special nights which only those from those colleges can attend. Frist dissolves this division with late meal. Students can mingle with other students regardless of their living arrangement. The times are regular and one need not worry about a residential college affiliation in order to eat there.
Eating clubs, the residential colleges and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students provide great opportunities for students to participate in study breaks, social events and other fun activities. But Frist is unique in these areas. Frist’s event planning centers around the Center Stage Programming Board. Every month there are several events that students can — regardless of eating club or residential affiliation — enjoy. The variety of these events should not be ignored; there are video-gaming, hypnosis and even relaxation/massage nights that reach a wide population of Princetonians. What makes these events very prominent is that they are consistently listed on websites, such as TigerApps, so that students will always be able to see what is happening next.
Other special features of Frist are the havens within the Haven. I am referring to support groups like the LGBT and Women’s Centers. Students from these subsets of the population on campus can use these places as types of refuges in order to learn more about a variety of topics uniquely related to their Princeton experience. Princeton has the Carl A. Fields Center for minorities and the Davis Center for international students, but these buildings only serve one category of students each. What makes Frist unique is that it contains centers that cater to different categories of individuals in a single, central location. One must also take account the intimate proximity of these centers, a fact that only enhances the convenience and emphasizes the melting pot of this community.
Tutoring is another component of Frist unparalleled by other campus services. Sure, you can go to Whitman for writing assistance and tutoring, but Frist offers a variety of tutoring services. Frist offers tutoring through the McGraw Center in math, physics, economics, politics, ORFE and chemistry. But what if you aren’t mathematically or politically inclined? What if your problems lie in time management? Not a problem! Frist offers academic skills workshops every semester in various locations and times to suit students’ needs. It would be wonderful if some day other groups on campus could heed this example and create more tutoring hubs around campus.
Also, have you ever noticed the abundance of promotional events that take place in Frist? I would argue that the reason for this is that countless students go in and out of Frist daily. This is beneficial for promotions because many people will see these events and — if you’re lucky — want to attend or help out a great cause. Though the tables that are set up around the first floor of Frist are usually different from one another in their missions, they are still within one building. In fact, the argument could be made that these canvassing groups are symbolic of all the different interests of Princeton coming together as one.
Overall, no matter which major we choose or which residential college or upperclass residence that we live in, the Frist Campus Center is the place to be for meetings, catching up with friends, leisurely activities and even studying. Frist is one of the best examples of a location that brings the Princeton community together, for it contains so many different services that suit a variety of students’ needs.
Morgan Jerkins is a comparative literature major from Williamstown, N. J. She can be reached at mjerkins@princeton.edu.
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