Walsh Hall Bonus

Walsh Hall is one of Fordham’s on-campus housing options for upperclassmen. Residency in this building marks a substantial upgrade to an apartment kitchen from Aramark’s cuisine. Other perks include its central location, living room spaces, proximity to campus gate, and great views of campus from the top floors. Most importantly, there is a bench 20ft away from the front door. 

This Walsh-adjacent bench is valuable not for its whimsical view of Bros Hill’s side profile, but for its odd location. Located in the triangle formed by Walsh, Walsh campus gate, and the path around Walsh, the Walsh bench exists in an area of heavy pedestrian traffic. Benches can fulfill many necessary cultural roles, and this one provides a stationary balance to the motion of foot transportation. 

There are many ways to take advantage of this bench. For non Walsh-dwellers, I suggest using it as a place to convene with and wait for your Walsh-dwelling friend. As you wait, use this quasi-vertical space to consider if your friend’s tardiness is because they didn’t actually leave their dorm when they texted you that they did or because the Walsh elevator is actually that slow. 

If you happen to be that Walsh-dwelling friend, use the bench as a waiting space. For example, the next time you come back to class at peak time only to first notice a large mass of people waiting in the lobby, secondly realize one of the elevator panels is blinking, thirdly consider walking up 12 flights of stairs, and fourthly resign to cursing Fordham’s outdated electrical structure while joining the elevator queue, I instead encourage you to wait on the Walsh bench instead. The lighting and energy is much more optimistic. While you sit on the bench, both the elevator line and your discontent will fade, at which point you can take the elevator in peace, sans line. 

Ultimately, the bench outside of Walsh is inherently a waiting bench. It is a necessary accessory to Walsh Hall and can be utilized as a way to cope with Walsh’s quirky inconveniences. With no waiting places in the entrance, this bench offers an external lobby for a variety of uses.