The reconstruction of the Setzer Center is now complete. The back and front entrances have been remodeled and are completely different. I've seen several articles, with pictures, of the Quad side but I have not run across any pictures of the parking lot side. The question is, which side is considered the front entrance and which side is considered the back entrance?

That is an age old argument that I’ve had with many people. I think it comes down to your perspective and experience of the campus. Personally I lived my first 2 years on campus, therefore I entered The Set from the quad and that was considered the front. My last 2 years I entered from the other end but I already considered that the back. I believe many commuters that entered from the parking side considered it the front for the same reason I don’t. I spent many hours and skipped a few (just a slight exaggeration...) on the red couches in what I consider the front of The Set. I’ll be honest and say I was disappointed to see that the put in Chick Fila and Jason’s while scrapping The Nest and Mirabeau’s. Pretty much every day I got a burrito from The Nest and if the cashier wasn’t paying attention, you could tell em it was a bean burrito and save some money lol.

I'm showing my age here. In the early 70's, there were two eating places in the Setzer Center. I remember the Bird Cage because of the cafeteria style food selection line but the Mirabeau just doesn't sound right to me. I wonder if they had changed the name?

 

While my son was in the band, I shot a lot of camcorder footage both at the stadium and the campus. At night, the Quad was always so quiet. You could hear the flag, on the class of '43 flagpole, whipping in the wind. The clock chimes from the library was always so nice to hear. The last home game, two years ago, I walked thru the Setzer Center, on my way back to the parking lot. They were in the process of taking out the furniture and the old Sigma Nu letters were on the quad side porch. Good ol' Sigma Nu and their house. Those were some good times in an Animal House kind of way. Anyway, the Setzer Center was deserted and the memories came flooding back like the ghosts coming down the stairs in the movie Poltergeist.

The Streaker on the second floor, before he ran into the Quad, with a local news camera guy chasing him. That back camera angle never made it to air. The Iranians, who would set up their protest table and demand that the Shah be removed. The staircase, where so many photos were taken. The French High class of '73 prom was held in the ballroom. So many other memories.

That is an age old argument that I’ve had with many people. I think it comes down to your perspective and experience of the campus. Personally I lived my first 2 years on campus, therefore I entered The Set from the quad and that was considered the front. My last 2 years I entered from the other end but I already considered that the back. I believe many commuters that entered from the parking side considered it the front for the same reason I don’t. I spent many hours and skipped a few (just a slight exaggeration...) on the red couches in what I consider the front of The Set. I’ll be honest and say I was disappointed to see that the put in Chick Fila and Jason’s while scrapping The Nest and Mirabeau’s. Pretty much every day I got a burrito from The Nest and if the cashier wasn’t paying attention, you could tell em it was a bean burrito and save some money lol.

 

That's why I never considered front or back as a way to describe to friend where to meet. It was always the Quad side or the McDonald Gym side or the parking lot side. No room for misunderstandings that way.

i always figured the drive and parking lot were the front...i park in front of my house.

 

i just remember the bird cage and a cafeteria? memory fading fast from a rather foggy era!

 

never called anything the quad...had Mirabeaus head and the fountain

 

slept many a class away in the Setzer Center...could explain the 6 yr degree plan!

 

Sigma Nu rush party...exotic dancer...epic stuff

 

and yes, Drac...."down with the Shah, down with the shah. our people are killed with US bullets"..over and over and over and over.......

My wife, class of '78, suggested that Mirabeau's was probably the old "the Perch." She recalls it as having vending machines. I wonder if those Iranians ever went back to Iran and the Mullah's? After "enduring" living her, that must have been a cultural shock.

I spent a good bit of time upstairs watching the Yankees-Dodgers world series instead of going to class. I was in night classes then and I was more into watching the Yankees than worrying about Speech and Alg I.