Shortly after news broke that Milne would be closed for the next four years due to renovations and the presence of asbestos, the school indicated they would be looking into replacement options that accurately met students’ needs. Denny’s Restaurant met a majority of the criteria that the school was looking for, according to several members of the search committee, and will be available for students to use at the start of the fall 2020 semester.
“We now have a formal contract with Denny’s Restaurant that allots 75 percent of the establishment’s seating to Geneseo students,” interim library director Corey Ha said. “Three hundred students will be able to use the space at one time. While it doesn’t replace the full Milne Library experience, this really is the best-case scenario we could have hoped for.”
The search committee is composed of Ha, Student Association President Adam Hansen, University Police Department Chief of Police Thomas Kilcullen and three members of the student body from various years and majors. Their criteria for what a replacement facility would need to offer included: within reasonable walking distance from Geneseo’s campus, food available on site, long hours of operation to accommodate a range of student schedules and an atmosphere conducive to student productivity and success.
University Hots on Main Street, Q Lot at the bottom of Court Street and the Walmart furniture section were all considered viable options as well. These other locations, however, did not match the number of boxes that Denny’s Restaurant checked off.
“Q Lot and Walmart were going to cost a lot of money on our part in terms of moving in tables and chairs or setting up a barricade to section off students from other populations who use these spaces. University Hots can get quite loud later into the night Thursday through Sunday,” Hansen said. “Denny’s was the clear winner. Our search committee saw and felt it. Our focus groups expressed similar sentiments. Denny’s was really a godsend in our eyes.”
The restaurant is a little more than two miles from campus and sidewalks are available to pedestrians for the duration of the walk there. The campus shuttles to Walmart and Wegmans will add stops at Denny’s to their route. Additionally, Kilcullen will schedule a UPD officer to be on the premises at all times.
Denny’s is a 24-hour establishment and serves food around the clock. Although popular with Geneseo town residents on weekend mornings, all other days and times showed few other patrons in the restaurant, according to studies conducted by the search committee.
Kilcullen hopes students understand and appreciate the hard work done by the search committee to find a replacement and that they will utilize the space. “Students were so heartbroken to lose their library. So, now here’s a 24-hour place for them to go with reasonably priced food and good study lighting. We even went so far as to write up a contract that requires Denny’s to have reserved seating for them. My wish is to see students there every day, just as I would in the library.”
Abby Smith, a sophomore history major and a member of one of the focus groups, explained the process from her point of view. Once a month, the search committee would gather the focus group and present on one location they were evaluating as a replacement for the library. The focus group would then have one hour to discuss amongst themselves how they felt about the option and then another hour to express their views to the search committee.
“It was a smooth process all around,” Smith said. “We really felt like the school cared about student opinion for once. All of the options were really well thought out and offered valuable resources to students. In the end it was clear, though, that Denny’s was the best option. Hands down.”
Students looking to learn more about Denny’s as a replacement to the library and other details on the search committee’s process can visit the tab marked “Replacing Milne Library” on the Geneseo website’s homepage.
“We’re excited about this. We’re excited to offer students a place where they can go at any time to do their work,” Ha said. “And you can’t beat a Denny’s omelet.”
Disclaimer: This is a satirical piece
