Sometimes Orgo loses its punch, poli-sci papers are not keeping you entertained, and you are too lazy to take a cab down to the harbor. In those cases, E-Level in Levering may be just the place you're looking for. Levering suffered a loss in student traffic after the campus bar within it was closed two years ago for alcohol violations. But the Office of Student Life has been working hard to bring back its popularity with both new food options and TVs equipped with video games.
Levering Hall, for the unfamiliar, is that big brick building adjacent to the Glass Pavilion near Garland Hall. E-Level is the large student lounge area found at the back of Levering, past the main desk and down the hallway on the left-hand side. Four large TVs are mounted on a rack from the center ceiling and a large widescreen TV takes up much of the right wall.
The place is more than a lounge though. It is also a full-service snackbar and grill. E-Level serves a wide variety of foods, sides and beverages, along with weekly specials. This week's special: "Spicy Wings, $3."
"We're serving food again, with a variety of chicken, fish, onion rings -- we're still looking to expand our menu with salads and healthier sides," said William L. Clemm II, Assistant Director of Levering Union.
E-Level, which takes its name from the notorious letter-named floors of the MSE Library, has had a colorful history in the past. E-level used to be a full-service bar for students, which was also run by students. Upperclassmen familiar with E-Level will remember the outcry when it was shut down in 2000 for alcohol violations.
"E-Level was originally opened as a campus bar, with a wider selection on the menu than at present, with salads, soups, etc.," said Clemm. He also noted, "Two alcohol violations at E-Level for underage drinking contributed to a shutdown of E Level for two years. It was used as a reservable room, and was mostly dead for those years." The result of the shutdown was the elimination of one of Hopkins' best social gathering places, an event that is still vividly remembered by many juniors and seniors.
Luckily, the administration decided to give its blessing to reopen E-Level, this time as a student lounge rather than a bar, and with hopes to once again make it a popular student center.
"Dean Boswell said we could open up as an eating space, a lounge space, for people who want to eat out after dining halls close," said Clemm. "We're still working with the dean to get more programming into Levering, trying to have the University provide events for students rather than just student groups, and to use E-Level as the hub for all those activities."
Clemm hopes to eventually bring activities such as Casino Night, along with virtual-reality games, to Levering and E-Level in the future.
To add a little bit of humor to E-Level, a transplanted traffic light hangs from the ceiling near the entrance. The center of the room is dominated by a large metallic pool table, which is surrounded by five gray sofas. In the far corners of the room are four more TVs, each equipped with a Microsoft X-Box, and featuring various football and action games, such as Dead or Alive 3. There are also about eight large wooden tables located at various points in the room, each table with the capacity for about six people.
Monica Cho, a sophomore who works at E-Level has a positive feeling about the new E-Level.
"E-Level is a great resource," she said. "But the problem is, it's unrealized. E-Level's open until 2 a.m. most nights of the week and the food is cheap: Only $1.50 for French fries." The only detriments, she believes, are that "people don't know it's open and that E-Level doesn't take J-CASH at the moment. But people who have come to E-Level have found it to be a great place to study."
E-Level also runs a lot of events of which the general student body seems unaware. For example, graduate students can get free food (cake and coffee) at E-Level on Monday afternoons, from 3-4 p.m. E-Level stands ready and waiting for the student population at Hopkins. As Clemm put it, "We have a lot here to offer. Bring your friends down for a sports-game competition, to play board games, to watch football ... E-Level is only as good as you make it.
