A New Era of Student Life

Victoria Baek and Ellie Choi

As winter break came to an end, OCSA students received an exciting email update from the Assistant Principal of Student Supervision, Abbe Levine, regarding the finished construction project of the new student common spaces. Described by Levine, the new Lisa Argyros Commons (formerly a parking lot) and Larry and Helen Hoag Foundation Student Lounge (formerly a storage area), lined with new fencing, are completed.

OCSA’s campus has been under construction for the past few years. During this time, students have endured construction noise, dust and traffic. Wooden boards covered walkways and passageways shrunk to accommodate buildings, making the commute to class difficult. But now, the construction is practically finished.. 

The first new student space is the Lisa Argyros Commons, which consists of expansive turf areas, new tables and chairs and walkways. The space is in front of the new Grand Staircase outside the Annex. Since school began, students have been enjoying lunch and break periods sitting on the turf. 

Mckenzie Gil (CW ‘27) said that the Commons “reminds [her] of a college campus” with its “open structure and modern look.” She finds it “enjoyable to sit with friends on the grass,” rather than by the 10th Street tree or tables. 

Also, the construction of the indoor Larry & Helen Hoag Foundation Student Lounge is completed and built in the breezeway. According to Levine’s email before second semester began, the “Student Lounge is available for use as a safe, interior space for students to hang out whenever OCSA’s campus is open for use” and “students can eat in the Student Lounge, as long as everyone cleans up after themselves.” 

In a past Evolution article, staff Bella Chiodo (VA ‘25) and Samuel Parigela (CW ‘25) wrote how the new spaces “enclose the Tower, Annex and Media Arts Center with a perimeter fence similar to the DMS plaza” in order to “create a safer space for students to hang out before and after school, as well as provide more visitor control here on campus.” 

The other projects of the capital campaign, which have been completed earlier, were the Serenity Center, the movement of the Scott & Charlotte Egan Studio Theatre (formerly a small black box theatre space) and the movement of the Production Shop (formerly located in the current Studio Theatre space). Additionally, if you pass by 10th Street, you may notice the caution tape and black and white piano keys, as Venezuelan-American painter Eric Michael undertakes this 214 foot by 32 foot mural called the 88Keys Project.

The vision for the new spaces was to “create a unified campus experience where students can build community” because OCSA is located in an urban environment, so “it often doesn’t ‘feel’ like a campus,” said Levine. Going forward, OCSA community events like Club Rush, Taste of OCSA, Spirit Week festivities and more will take place in the Commons.

Some OCSA students have conflicting thoughts about the new spaces. While Gil noticed that “the vibes are more exciting than when it was cramped on 10th Street during mega lunch,” others disagree. Aryan Sharma (CW ‘27) said, “I don’t like how we are in the middle of a walkway and how it became the new 10th Street.” Others have also noticed the increased foot traffic outside the staircases due to activities taking place on the Commons.

Nevertheless, the OCSA student life now has new amenities to support the realities of a shared urban campus, marking the close of years of construction and the beginning of a new era for student experience.