Photo by Chris Kasprak. The Colby Echo. 5 October 2011.
The Joseph Family Spa is where the majority of the student body gathers on a daily basis. It is not only located in the center of the campus but also symbolizes the lifeline of the school. As junior government major and Minnesota native Eliza Larson once put it, “The spa is the brain of campus and everything else stems from it.” The spa embodies a magnetic force though its popularity may be a result of the fact that it serves the greasiest of foods. The spa is also open from 8 am to 1 am, which makes it convenient for all Colby students and their busy schedules.
The Spa is roughly semicircular in shape. When you first enter, you are met with padded chairs surrounding a coffee table, setting a casual and comfortable tone. There are a number of baby blue, dark blue and red chairs. The colors are playful and help foster a friendly and playful atmosphere. The Spa in general also gives off a clean and airy feeling due to the high ceilings, hanging lights, and vast windows on the right wall.
From my experience, the Spa functions in four distinct modes. First, the Spa functions as a highly attractive breakfast alternative from eating in Bobs or Dana. Spa breakfasts are typically relaxing- after shmearing on cream cheese and filling to-go mugs with coffee, most students open their newspapers or laptops and stay awhile. Tory Belin is a frequenter of the Spa for breakfast. “I love to get a coffee and a bagel there but the plains always go first so if you don’t get there early, you have to choose between cheese or blueberry. The Spa is nice at breakfast though and there’s always fun music playing. It sets the tone for a good day.”
The Spa’s second mode is lunch, which becomes the most hectic around 12:15 pm. Most students come here to enjoy Colby’s new Take 4 lunch option, which features a new and improved sandwich bar (that has pesto!!). Spa lunch is very rowdy and usually filled to capacity. Junior football player, African drummer and American Studies major, Indigo Dow finds that the Spa is the predominant gathering place for students. “It’s a great place to talk and eat with friends or hang out and watch TV. You can even invite a teacher to eat a meal. Lunch is really popular and epitomizes the social-ness of Colby students.”
The Spa’s third function is as a late night student hangout, Wednesday through Saturday nights after 11 pm. It is typically on these nights- when Colby students have been partying- that the Spa acts as a place to meet up with friends or get a last snack before bed. The Spa becomes absolute mayhem…students are everywhere…the music is blasting…and I can guarantee I have seen a number of students dancing on the info desk on multiple occasions. Belin explained that on these nights, the spa becomes a theme park with many amusements to watch, from “a girl fight to people pounding four quesadillas at once.” Dow agreed with this sentiment that “on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, ‘dillas are the school favorite. Other than that though, a lot of people lose respect for the people behind the counter, some talk badly to the staff, steal food, or are just disrespectful.” Rachel Jacobs, a Government major and SGA representative also agreed that the Spa “is a great place to get food between midnight and one am. It’s the heart of campus where you can meet up and talk about your night. The set up is conducive for this kind of socializing.”
http://youtu.be/dv2mGnenTbM
The Spa’s last function is as a great study space- whether it be independent or with a study group from class. Twenty-one year old Alyssa Felix from South China has been working at the Spa for four months and explains, “The spa is more of a hangout space than a dining facility. It’s an upscale Starbucks where people do homework and socialize. Wednesday and Thursday nights, after social events, kids will gaggle here because many are intoxicated.” Justin Main, twenty-two and from Augusta, has worked at the Spa for a year. “I like being an employee here” he recounted, “everyone is pretty easy to work with and the weekends bring a livelier type crowd in comparison to the week day studiers. The Spa is the hub of campus where you can see every kind of Colby Student.”
The Colby Spa not only serves as a place to socialize and do work, but also to eat our favorite unhealthy foods. Unlike other areas, all students seem to feel welcome here and I believe it symbolizes the heart and soul of our campus. While the history behind its title is still unknown, maybe there is something to be said about calling our grill the Spa. Although there are no massages or pedicures being offered, there is some comfort provided in the fact that it exists as the physical manifestation of the coming together of the Colby community – whether it be over a project, a late night quesadilla, or a bagel and coffee.