A few upperclass students said that the atmosphere of the Commons reminds them of television shows with college students as their main characters.

"I think it looks sort of like 'A Different World; you know, that TV show," said Daniel N. Webb '96, referring to a "Cosby Show" spin-off from the late 1980s.

Others suggested it was reminiscent of "Saved by the Bell" or "Beverly Hills 90210" after the characters went to college.

A graduate student said the red, blue, yellow and white rectangular lights on the ceiling reminded him of sunnier climes.

"I like the colored lights," said Joe R. Metz, a sixth-year graduate student in Germanic Languages and Literatures. "It's like Epcot Center."

Bill Layher deemed the decor slightly less than Disneyesque.

"It has that sort of upscale ware-house look," said Layher, a fifty-year graduate student in the German department.

Layher said he works at Gato Rojo, the small cafe in Dudley House popular with graduate students, and "came over to check out the competition." The two places will draw "different crowd[s]," he decided, because Loker focuses on undergraduates and Gato on graduate students.

At the east end of Loker is an L.E.D. (light-emitting diode) display board measuring approximately 70 square feet and along the north wall is a 114-long electronic light display "frieze." Yesterday the artistic material for both boards had not yet been finalized. As a result, strange patterns and lines written backwards from "Alice in Wonderland" punctuated the frieze yesterday.

Best is Yet to Come

The automatic teller machine, the U.S. Postal Service stamp machine, the coin-operated copy machine, the credit-card-operated fax machine, the Harvard Student Agencies film developing drop-off box, the sweet shop's candy and the newsstand's periodicals have not yet arrived, but should be in place within the next few weeks, according to Loker officials.

"We will have Baybank [come in] hopefully within the week," said Eric C. Engel, director of the Memorial/Lowell Hall complex.

Customers received their share of goodies yesterday, however, as both the ice cream shop and the coffee house were giving out free samples. The Heath Bar frozen yogurt had a sweet but light taste and the cafe mocha was rich but not overwhelming.

Felix H. Cheung '98, who was studying at a table near the food shops, said the pizza tasted good.

"It's better than Tommy's, but needs a little more sauce to be on par with the Greenhouse," Cheung said.