Unlike other updated areas on campus, Harbor Hall has old, outdated and broken furniture. Alyssa Harmon | The Crow’s Nest
By Alyssa Harmon
New members of Alpha Xi Phi are met with one simple warning: “No, don’t sit there!” whenever they try to sit on the chair in the corner that sports five legs and four wheels.
Once a week, the members of the English Honor Society Alpha Xi Phi and the Papercut Literary Journal meet at the Morse family’s old table in Harbor Hall to talk about literary events.
The Morse family built the collection that can be found in the Salvador Dalí Museum, 1 Dali Blvd. The table, bookshelves and other various furniture items were left behind in Harbor Hall when the museum was converted to the new home of the Department of Verbal and Visual Arts in 2011.
According to Joan Kropf, deputy director and chief curator at the Dalí Museum, the boardroom table traveled all the way to Florida from Beachwood, Ohio, where it stood in the Morses’ office building. However, when they acquired the new building for the museum, they left the table behind.
This artifact isn’t the only object that found its new home on the second floor of Harbor Hall. Most of the mismatched furniture came from various places.
A lot of it came from the old Globe Coffee Lounge that used to be in downtown St. Petersburg. The university acquired the furniture from the owner of Globe, and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean Frank Biafora approved the funds to buy the furniture to create a coffee house vibe in the upstairs lounge. The total cost was $500, according to Thomas Hallock, an associate professor of English literature.
However, the rest of the furniture upstairs wasn’t purchased. It was part of an Ikea donation.
Both students and professors are unimpressed with the current situation.
“The furniture itself is gross and dirty. Then on top of it, it’s super outdated, ripped, torn and there’s not enough of it,” said Emma Hamilton, a senior English major. “What good are loveseats for studying? (It) isn’t organized thoughtfully to help students gather to work together or study independently. There are like 15 places to sit.”
The English professors are also not impressed with the furniture. They have put in at least three requests for new furniture that is not “wobbly or torn” Dr. Thomas Hallock said.
The request has never been granted, as it doesn’t fit in with the university’s budget.
“The College of Arts and Sciences replaces furniture on a rolling basis, with decisions based on the highest needs and budgetary constraints as the highest priority,” said Magali Michael, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Julie Armstrong, an English professor of literature, acknowledged that the English professors are aware that it takes a good amount of money to keep a university running and that new furniture for a building on the fringe of campus may not be high on the priority list.
However, the stained white couch in the lobby, the Victorian-style yellow and brown floral print loveseat upstairs, and the condensation-stained table do “not give the professional look and feel of the university’s preeminent status,” Armstrong said.
The furniture is reminiscent of a Saturday morning spent thrifting at garage sales and doesn’t mirror the updated classrooms.
“I would not bring a colleague or community member into (Harbor Hall). We would like something new for both upstairs and downstairs, similar in design to what other buildings have,” Armstrong said.
Hallock agreed that he would like to see furniture similar to what Lynn Pippenger Hall. The contrast is noticeable when students walk into that building versus Harbor Hall.
The business building offers everything that Harbor Hall lacks: a sleeker design, brand new green and brown-themed comfortable chairs and couches, recycled oak tables, seats that have outlets built into them, balconies that overlook the campus, areas for collaborative work and a food and coffee bar.
Harbor Hall doesn’t even have a vending machine.
The closest food in between classes is in the business building or The Grind, a good five-minute walk from the building. Some students only have 15 minutes between classes, forcing them to bring their own lunch. Alpha Xi Phi even spent its own money for a crockpot to provide food at its meetings for students.
Hallock and Armstrong will continue pushing for new furniture.
“The condition of the furniture reflects an institutional and national indifference to the humanities,” Hallock said.
“Furniture does not have to be expensive, but it should send a message that this building –– and the students who learn in it –– are worthy of university respect,” Armstrong said.
But until then, remember: Don’t sit on the chair with five legs but only four wheels.
