The Student Center

Bennington’s new Student Center, which opened in the fall of 2006, rolls the campus café, snack bar, and pub into one space with a state-of-the-art kitchen and ample seating.

Along with classic Bennington favorites (the universally beloved nachos, smoothies, and wraps), the menu at the Student Center includes new gourmet sandwiches and salads made with local ingredients.

The building itself is a lofty haven of cedar and glass, with a ceiling that swoops up to 30 feet at its highest point. Sunlight fills the space by day, and sleek pendant lights illuminate it by night. A set of huge, upward-acting overhead doors raise and lower to open the room up to the sweeping terrace outside. With an upholstered enclave for studying and conversation, and a wide-open performance space for events ranging from rock concerts to poetry readings, open-mic nights to dance parties, the space has become a prime hang-out spot.