SGA sustainability board looks to revamp a third space on Butler’s campus. Photo by Samantha Noga.

ELLIOT Z. MUEHLHAUSEN | STAFF REPORTER | emuehlhausen@butler.edu

In an initiative to “reimagine” the blue chair space outside of Starbucks, Butler’s Student Government Association (SGA) is looking to hear student feedback on ideas for revamping the space. SGA is collecting feedback through a survey that closes Feb. 28.  

The blue chair space is located directly west of the Starbucks on campus, with 16 blue beach chairs, multiple fireplaces and dangling lights. The SGA Sustainability Board has noticed a lack of student attention towards the space and is looking to make it more active. 

Grace Fox, a junior environmental studies and organizational communications and leadership double major, is the director of sustainability for SGA and one of the main contributors to the idea of reimagining the blue chair space.  

“[The idea] stemmed from an urban design class [I took] last semester,” Fox said. “We had a project that was focused on redesigning that space to make it more of a third space for students — somewhere where people want to stay — rather than just pass through. When we were observing that area, [we] realized that people weren’t really sitting in that space.” 

Fox further elaborated on the concept of a third space, a term first coined by Ray Oldenburg in his book “The Great Good Place”. 

“Your first place is your home, and then a second space would be like work or school,” Fox said. “What [psychologists] have found is that people need a third space. It is a place outside of your work and your home that you can go to and have community there, so that you’re more fulfilled, you have more connections outside of just your family and work.” 

Sophomore pre-pharmacy major Maddie Koch spends most of her time studying in third places on campus, like Starbucks and the science library. Koch said she has never sat in the blue chairs.

“I feel like [the blue] chairs are inconvenient; it is not like you can do much, you just have to literally sit there,” Koch said. “At least you can do homework at the picnic tables [outside Starbucks]. Whenever the weather is nice, I’ll sit there.”

Unlike Koch, Norah Schloneger, a senior psychology and sociology double major, has sat in the blue chair area before. 

“We actually went out [to the blue chairs] for a class discussion one time last semester,” Schloneger said. “A bunch of us sat on the ground by the tree [and] only one person sat in a blue chair.” 

When considering creating third places, Fox mentioned that it is important to keep in mind that the spaces should focus on accessibility. 

“Third spaces [are] supposed to be affordable spaces for people to enter and places that people feel comfortable to enter,” Fox said. 

Some of the potential ideas for the space include adding more picnic tables or solar-powered tables, like the ones already outside of Starbucks and Butler Brew. There is also consideration for planting more native plants and turning the area into a green space.

Schloneger agrees with the impracticality of the blue chairs and the increase in picnic tables. 

“More tables over there would be good,” Schloneger said. “I only come over [to Starbucks] because there are tables. It is nice to sit with your friends, [but the blue chairs are] in a weird circle. It feels weird to sit next to someone when there’s [no] table.” 

When modifying areas on campus, SGA has to be aware of Butler’s guidelines and restrictions. This adds an extra challenge to the project as the cobblestone wall behind the space cannot be modified due to its historic nature.  

“Students [should] fill out the form or email [SGA] any feedback or ideas that they have,” Fox said. “We are here to serve them.”