Showdown: Haben vs. Great Hall
The Haben Center and the Great Hall are both widely used gymnasiums in our school and both have their perks. However, they are very different and and certain aspects of each are deeply flawed, begging an age-old BSM question: Which gym is better?
The Great Hall (left) and the Haben Center (right) are our two gyms at BSM. When compared side-by-side, both gyms have their positives and negatives.
April 2, 2017
Gym Space
The Great Hall: 6/10
The Great Hall is a frequently used area for many different events, including mass, speakers and school gatherings. The bleachers are very useful for sitting during mass and hanging out during lunch, but with the addition of the bleachers, the overall space feels smaller. The bleachers are big, clunky and take up a lot of room in the Great Hall.
The Haben Center: 8/10
The Haben Center is open and bright. Compared to the Great Hall, the space in the Haben feels much bigger. The Haben can fit the whole study body and the bleachers can be put up and stored away, which is an added bonus. It also has locker rooms that are very close to the gym, thus students can change fast after their Phy-Ed class.
Lighting
The Great Hall: 4/10
The lighting in the Great Hall is very bright, pretty artificial, and not the best. It’s so white and glowy that it’s almost blinding. It’s useful for mass and school gatherings, but it could be better.
The Haben Center: 8/10
The Haben Center is full of natural lighting, which is greatly appreciated by students as they feel they can get a small glimpse of the outdoors during the long school day. It is very bright, warm, and feels almost sunny in the Haben.
Smell
The Great Hall: 2/10
Honestly, the Great Hall always smells a little funky. It could be the sweaty students, but it also is adjacent to the lunchroom, so a variety of fragrances waft through that area.
The Haben Center: 3/10
The Haben Center smells a little bit better than the Great Hall, but not that much better. It still smells weird. Many students don’t know how to correctly use deodorant.
Heat
The Great Hall: 2/10
The heat in the Great Hall is pretty much awful all year round at school gatherings. When you’re just taking a stroll through there, it’s fine, but during mass or speakers, the heat gets pretty unpleasant. It’s not fun for yourself or others around you to do the “Our Father” during mass with sweaty and clammy hands. It’s understandable that it can be hard to keep an area cool when there is a significant number of students in one area, but the Great Hall is still missing out on some serious air conditioning.
The Haben Center: 4/10
The heat in the Haben Center is hard to judge because it depends entirely on the season. The heat is very natural, similar to the lighting. It gets extremely hot in the Haben during the summer, and honestly, it is awful to have to sit or work out in there practically drenched in your own sweat. But, on the contrary, the weather is nice and cool during the winter time.
Fun
The Great Hall: 8/10
The Great Hall is a great place to eat lunch, hang out with friends or even play some basketball. The bleachers aren’t particularly comfy for sitting and can be a little awkward at times, but there is plenty of space to sit down and spread out.
The Haben Center: 6/10
The Haben Center isn’t used as widely or regularly as the Great Hall because the Haben is always in use by a wellness or gym class. Despite that, in the Haben Center, there is more playing space, the lighting is a tad bit better, and it’s very close to the locker rooms so students can change fast and get to class on time.
Both the Great Hall and the Haben Center are practical and enjoyable places to go to during the school day. Neither is perfect, but some aspects are better in the Great Hall when compared to the Haben Center and vice versa. Overall, the Great Hall is a fun escape and hang out place during the school day, but the Haben Center is better because it has better lighting, smell and gym space.
