The Observer, February 2, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 15
One Foot Out the Door: Wackadoo's fails to unite students, take advantage of location
Euclid Avenue has a rich history of wealth and fame. During the late 1800s it made international guide books as a "must see" for European travelers. Tax evaluations at the time placed it well ahead of New York City's 5th Avenue. Residents with mansions on the street included the likes of John D. Rockefeller, who helped the street earn its nickname, Millionaire's Row.
Few talk about that now. Only a handful of the 19th century mansions still exist, and the landscape along this route is far from the elm-lined treasure it used to be. The only buzz on the Case campus of Euclid Avenue is recognizing that it divides our campus in half: Northside/Southside, Case Quad/Mather Quad, and hospitals/museums. The divisions uncomfortably remind us of the less benign gaps present here: sophomore housing/everyone else's housing, introverted computer geeks/extroverted socialites, engineers taking 22-credit hours/the rest much closer to 12 credits.
At the center of this divide is not only Euclid Avenue, but the buildings along it, most notably, the Thwing Student Center. Two years ago Charlie's Place was replaced by Wackadoo's with the idea being that a "hip" student bar-grill would unite students in the middle of campus. In attempting this, it has failed.
The busiest time of the day for Wackadoo's comes during lunch where it draws the same crowd Charlie's Place used to – people who are too lazy or don't have the time to walk further. After 3 p.m., the place nearly empties. Until it closes at midnight, the rest of the day's crowd can be managed by two workers.
Besides the element of convenience if you happen to be near Thwing and are hungry, there is little reason to stop in. The food is not that much different or that much better than anything served at Leutner and Fribley. And while there is an extended happy hour at the bar, the majority of undergraduate students here cannot legally drink.
If you are not old enough to get a beer, or you already get enough pizza and burgers through your meal plan, why bother going to Wackadoo's?
Until Wackadoo's gives students a better reason to come in, it will rely only on its afternoon lunch time convenience crowd. In terms of finances, I am sure the university overhead subsidies help ensure that a profit is made. But being in the heart of campus, in a building meant to unite the student body, Wackadoo's should take advantage of its opportunities and location and stop settling for those uneventful, empty nights.
Ibrahim is a senior Medical Anthropology major who has just returned from a year abroad in London.
