Student Center to partially reopen on Friday, certain floors will remain closed
Vice Chancellor and Dean for Student Life Suzy Nelson and Vice President for Campus Services Joe Higgins announced updates regarding the Stratton Student Center (W20) closure in an email to the MIT community sent Feb. 15,
Beginning Friday, Feb. 17, the student center will partially reopen. Basement spaces will be accessible starting 7:00 AM, and mail will be rerouted to the Central Square Post Office. Package deliveries will be rerouted to Mail Services (WW15) starting Friday.
Food establishments on the first and second floors including LaVerde’s, BibimBox, and TeaDo will reopen for regular business hours. However, Lobdell seating and other spaces will be closed until the fall. The third floor will be permanently closed until August due to high amounts of water damage. According to Nelson and Higgins, “extensive cleanup” is expected on the fourth floor due to “significant flooding and flooring damage.”
Student groups and programs will continue to be able to work with Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement (SOLE) staff for “temporary, short-term access” to the space. The fifth floor’s offices and study spaces will reopen at 7:00 AM.
Nelson and Higgins highlighted alternate study locations including the MIT libraries, reservable spaces on Atlas, unused classrooms, Sloan study spaces, and Institute Event venues.
They concluded by thanking the MIT community for their patience, stating that the community has handled the “unwelcome surprise” with “equanimity and grace.” Nelson and Higgins also thanked the staff for putting in “hundreds of hours of work to get us to this point.”
Updates regarding the student center closure will be posted on the Student Life website. MIT community members can email w20updates-reply@mit.edu with questions and comments.