By Akiva Bryant

We’ve all heard about the “new floor” that will be built in the cafeteria. Talks about this new floor have made their way across the school, but is this legit? How much of this statement is actually true? Well, according to the Vice President of Advancement Dr. Chris Freer, these rumors are somewhat accurate.

Our current cafeteria, the Woodruff Dining Hall, was built in 1971 and accommodates about 750 people, according to Dr. Freer. However, Woodward’s student and faculty population has increased in the past 50 years, and we now have a student body of about 1100. Due to this, our Dining Hall is obviously on the smaller side, leading to students eating in other locations such as West Commons or the Tyler Brown Student Center. 

“So the fact that you all have to eat in West Commons or the Tyler Brown Student Center in addition to the cafeteria…is not ideal,” Dr. Freer said. “We’re able to do it because you guys, as students, are flexible, and because the cafeteria staff, the dining staff, is very creative. But, you know, from, like, cold or rainy days, everyone’s trying to get inside. It’s crowded, the lines are too long. So that’s something that we’ve battled for a long time.”

Due to the cramped spaces, the team behind this project–including Dr. Merrill, Mrs. Zents and Mr. Lee Connor, our COO–has decided to completely tear down the cafeteria and replace it with a three story “Student Commons” building.

“I’m calling it a Student Commons and not just a cafeteria,” Dr. Freer said. “It will have a cafeteria in it, that’s where everyone will eat. There’ll be five serving lines instead of the two that we currently have. There’ll be plenty of places for people to sit together or to sit in small groups. Clubs could meet in rooms that are kind of cordoned off, but everyone would be under the same roof.”

Additionally, there are plans for a coffee shop for parents dropping off and picking up their kids, alongside an expansion to the campus store. The Admissions Office and College Counseling Office will also be located in this building. 

“The third floor is going to be really cool,” Dr. Freer said. “… it’s basically going to be a giant ballroom that will allow us to put 1200 people in one place. So as a student body, you guys can have an assembly, and it doesn’t have to be a gymnasium or the stadium.”

Due to other construction around the campus, such as the renovation of Brewster Hall to become a history center and a new pavilion between the chapel and the empty lot, the goal is for construction to start in 3-4 years. However, that is a goal time frame and not a precise date.

So, how is Woodward funding this project? While families pay thousands of dollars per student in tuition, Dr. Freer emphasizes that none of this money goes towards construction. 

“So it’s really important for people to know that not a single dollar of tuition ever goes to building buildings,” Dr. Freer said. “Tuition is for paying our faculty and staff. It’s for the operation of our current, you know, school operation, but buildings come from the generosity of others.”

All buildings on the Upper School campus are funded by donations from the community. For example, Jane Woodruff, the niece of Robert Woodruff, who founded Coca Cola, donated $7 million for the construction of the Woodruff Hall. Joe and Nina Moss donated money for Moss Hall. 

“So all of the buildings that we enjoy, the facilities that we enjoy, come from the generosity and the philanthropy of others,” Dr. Freer said. “Most of the time they aren’t currently at the school. Maybe they benefited from the school in some form or fashion during their lifetime […] it is not improbable to have somebody who has kids here now to give generously towards capital campaigns. So, capital is anything that’s a building and […] we will be launching a capital campaign to raise the money for this building.” 

To some students, such as Greta Vianna Sletteland ‘25, the construction of the cafeteria is necessary as they recognize cons within our current dining hall. 

“I feel like for the amount of students we have, it’s very small, and I feel like it’s very crammed, and I feel like we’re squished in like sardines in some of the lines,” Greta said. “I also feel like it’s very disorganized, …I just don’t think it’s…very easy to go about the cafeteria, because there’s tables everywhere. …you have to dodge the line, and the senior line.” 

The lines of the cafeteria are also problematic, as they are often long and take up a sizable amount of the lunch period.

“And like, sometimes I need to do work, and it’s like, I want to get lunch and I want to eat, but it’s also like, oh, I have other stuff to do,” Greta said. “So yeah, sometimes it’s like, ‘should I get lunch?’, you know? And I feel like…that shouldn’t come into question.”

However, Greta can recall the pros of our cafeteria such as the friendly staff and good food.

“I mean, I’m not very picky [about] food, but, like, some of the food is really good,” Greta said. “The staff is really nice. I feel like the Deans … it’s good to have them, because the deans, like, try to get people that are either pushing or being super rude in the lines out.”

Dr. Freer, at the end of the day, wants students to enjoy this eventual new dining hall. With the addition of a new pavilion and future plans for a grassy area in front of the school where students can congregate, he wants Woodward’s diverse student body to be able to come together in one space.

“We have different races and ethnicities, different religions, different learning styles,” Dr. Freer said. “Kids come from 23 different counties, different political beliefs, and so it’s really important for us to create spaces for them to come together and find common ground. And so that’s really the dream, is that this new commons will be a space where everyone can come together and work on things that they enjoy together: eating, learning, playing. That’s what that space will be for. So in my mind, the commons isn’t just a noun, it’s not just a place. It’s also going to be a verb and an adjective to describe the activities that will be taking place and to describe the actions that our kids will enjoy.”