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South Side Café

What: Something new and different to do on a Saturday night! Music, free food and beverages, and yogibos (the biggest, most comfortable bean bags ever produced)!

Where: 42 Bellarmine Road Lounge on the ground floor

When : Saturdays... Oct. 19, Nov. 2, Nov. 16, Nov. 23, and Dec. 7

Time: 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

How: Students can take a walk down or get on the South Side Shuttle, departing from the BCC/Dolan Hall traffic circles every 20 minutes starting at 10 p.m.

South Side Café's grand opening is this weekend, but the idea surfaced last spring after a presentation that shared the survey results about student drinking behaviors. Several staff members began to discuss a way to help address two issues in particular: connecting students who don’t drink with one another and offering fun and exciting substance-free, late-night events.

There’s no question that college students want to get out of their rooms and residence halls on weekend nights, but their options for a space to ‘hang out’ are very limited here on Fairfield’s campus. We have The Levee, but it is a pub, even with under 21 programming, and the Barone Campus Center is fine for several activities, but can be difficult to create a cozy, at-home, 'chill' atmosphere that students desire. After considering a number of spaces on campus, a working group of staff and students proposed creating a coffee house/lounge on campus - similar to the popular Las Vetas Lounge located in Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆCenter - within the 42 Bellarmine Road Commons area.

South Side Café at Bellarmine Commons is an out-of-the-way, intimate, and casual space with high ceilings, large windows, and an adjoining outdoor patio. The space requires minimal funds/labor to convert it to a lounge-style space. Bellarmine Commons also offers a small stage for open mic/karaoke nights and areas to display student artwork. The only concern raised is that students might not want to walk that far at night, especially in the winter. To remedy that, a van will be available to drive students from the Barone Campus Center and Dolan Hall to the ‘south side’ of campus. After much planning and collaboration, we are pleased that the student-run cafe, under the direction of Eric Lynch ’14, Lead Program Strategist, will be providing late-night ‘fellowship with friends’ and a space to ‘just be’ beginning this Saturday night, October 19, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

For more information, contact eric.lynch@student.fairfield.edu.