But Gross has presented himself as more open to the idea.

Chopra says that House identity should not dominate student life and is not at odds with the concept of a campus center.

“A student center is not incongruent with House life,” he says. “Houses serve an extremely small population, so you’re not able to have the complexity of a ballroom or a late-night eatery.”

The College has tried its hand at a student social space before.

Loker Commons, located beneath Memorial Hall, was built in 1994 as a space in which students could hang out, study, play pool, listen to music and eat fast food.

But over its nine-year existence, Loker has hardly become a magnet for student activity.

“All one can say, in one word, is it failed,” Gross says.

Gross says he does not know why exactly Loker fell short.

Chopra cites a multitude of factors, such as the lighting, the lack of open space and an unconventional shape.

The University has also had mixed success with building student centers at its graduate schools.

The Spangler Center at the Business School, which opened in Jan. 2001, receives rave reviews stemming from its comfort, copious amount of light and central location on the Business School campus.

Spangler—which is nearly 120,000 square feet and cost $32 million—boasts leather seats, tunnels connecting it to other campus buildings, an adjoining dining hall, a Coop and post office in the basement as well as flat plasma display screens announcing events.

On the other side of the University, the Law School’s Harkness Commons, which was built by Walter Gropius in his trademark efficient design, has low ceilings, sparse lighting—and resembles a 1950s prediction of what buildings would look like in the 21st century.

“It’s trying to encourage people meeting and hanging out,” says Joshua E. Spielman, a first-year law student. “I don’t know anyone who wants to do that here.”

The Competition