5 New Things We’re Excited About at Wellesley

The members of the yellow class of 2023 have stepped onto the Wellesley campus at an exciting time. Though they may never know why the Schneider Board of Governors, SBOG, is named after an administrative building (hint: it used to be the student center), they will always remember Wellesley as it is now.

We encourage alumnae who have been away from the Wellesley mothership for the last couple of years to peruse this list. You might be surprised by how much the campus has changed since you were here last!

The Adirondack chairs on the Academic Quad are a relatively new addition—they’ve only been around for a year. The classes of 2020 through 2023 will always remember the quad as the perfect spot for a much-needed break between classes or studying in the sun (or rain!) with friends.

The class of 2023 missed the short-lived blue and yellow striped “One Cards” used by student, staff, and faculty in the recent past. The new cards, which have a bucolic background similar to the one on the cards used by the classes of 2017 and earlier, can be picked up at Campus Police. These cards work on both swipe and proximity readers; proximity readers will be replacing swipe readers across campus, beginning with the Science Center. Fun fact: Before the advent of electronic ID cards, students posted at a front desk monitored guests’ admission into the dorms.

This weekend is the dedication ceremony for the new Butler Stadium. It’s equipped with lights, so now students can cheer on the Wellesley Blue during night games.

The classes of 2020 and 2021 will have to explain to their younger classmates what Pendleton West looked like before it reopened in 2017 as a collaborative arts center. The renovation included adding 10,000 square feet of space for arts and media programs. (Remember when BANDALOOP, a vertical performing arts group, celebrated the opening of the building with the Wellesley community?)

The class of 2023 is the first incoming class to experience the new and reimagined Science Center. The completion of the L-wing and Global Flora ends the first phase of the renovation and construction project on Science Hill. Stay tuned for more updates on this project throughout the semester! Global Flora is not open to the public until 2021.