commons exterior front, bell tower, sunny day and blue sky

Commons Hours and Information

 

  • See Roz’s Café website for hours, see also Dining Services.
  • The Bookstore is open 
  • Commons 302 is open. (capacity 12) LED TV, laptop connection, wireless connection, Blu-ray/DVD player, sound bar, HDMI input. (Space reservation form.)
  • Commons 318 is open. (capacity 25) Projection screen, HD projector, Mac Mini computer, laptop connection, wireless connection, Blu-ray/DVD player. (Space reservation form.)
  • Commons 319 is open (capacity 24) Projection screen, HD projector, Mac Mini computer, laptop connection, wireless connection, Blu-ray/DVD player. (Space reservation form.)
  • All other Commons classrooms and lounge areas are closed.
  • Commons Computer Lab is closed. NOTE: Students who do not have personal computing capabilities may request a loaner machine from the IT@Bennington Help Desk, 802-440-4476, helpdesk@bennington.edu.
  • IT Help Desk is open for call-in/remote support only. Please call the Help Desk line at 802-440-4476 or email helpdesk@bennington.edu with questions. 
  • SCoPE Forum is open.

Hours and access

Commons is equipped with card-swipe access, and is therefore “open” 24 hours a day. The main doors will be unlocked from 5:00 am-7:00 pm; any time outside those hours requires a card swipe to access. Most public spaces within the building—including all classrooms—will remain unlocked day and night.

Classrooms and Spaces

Commons has fifteen brand new learning spaces, ranging in capacity from eight to 30, and each is equipped with glass and/or chalk boards, projection capabilities, a Blu-ray/DVD player, and connections for a computer. Many rooms have flexible seating arrangements with movable tables. There’s a computer lab, lecture/performance space, peer-learning forum, and new social and dining spaces. The Post Office and Bookstore are on the ground floor; two classrooms (Commons 201 and 203) are situated on the second floor, adjacent to dining, and are ideal for lunch—or other—meetings when available.

Meeting spaces and room reservations

Commons does not have designated meeting space; rather, like other buildings on campus, it has classrooms that can be utilized for meetings when they are not being used for a class. To that end, requests for reserving Commons will be on a first-come, first-served basis after classes have been assigned each term. Once your event has been scheduled, you will receive confirmation via Google calendar. Events will not be moved to accommodate requests after confirmation has been sent. If you need to reschedule or cancel an event after it has been scheduled, please decline the invitation and send an email to Carly Rudzinski. Please note that if your event can be better accommodated at another location on campus, we will work with you to schedule the event at that location.

The Student Collaborative Peer Education Forum

The SCoPE Forum occupying the third floor bridge space is for student led-activities, and is not reservable for events or other non-SCoPE programming. Students can book appointments with peer tutors (Bennington MyWCOnline Schedule) or Student Career Assistants (Handshake), receive IT help, check out technology equipment, attend pop-up workshops, or just study quietly or collaboratively. The list of activities each week will be posted outside the Forum. 

Food and Dining

Though food is primarily meant to be consumed in the café, dining areas, and the two classrooms adjacent to the dining hall (Commons 201 and 203), you may take food and drink throughout the building. Carts with cleaning supplies and bins for dishes and compost will be available on each floor. Please be sure to clean up after your meeting or gathering—rooms should be left in the condition they were originally in. Note that if we receive notification that a room was not left in its original condition, you may not be able to reserve rooms in the future.

To accommodate student dining needs and hours, dining spaces are not able to be reserved or blocked off for any event.  

Dining Hall and Roz's Café Hours

Please refer to the Commons Dining Hall page for hours and menus for the Dining Hall and hours for Roz's Café. 

Questions?

Contact Carly Rudzinski in the Provost and Dean’s Office who has been coordinating with facilities, dining, the library, and others on the development of these guidelines.