Much ink has been spilt on Con Hall. We all have an opinion because she (yes, Con Hall is totally a girl) occupies such a large part of our student consciousness.

Which is what architecture is all about: buildings and culture. The physical-ness of Con Hall is not inspiring nor comfortable (the chairs are hard and there are no desks) but she is a vital part of our culture.

You see, U of T has little cross campus culture since there are so many of us. I am not complaining, that’s what you get when an influential university is in the middle of a dynamic, populated urban core. But Con Hall is perhaps the only unifying factor for every U of T student: from Engineers to Historians, we all have had ad least one intimidating early year course in the domed menace. This means we all have something to talk about, ie, the uncomfortable chairs and miniaturizing of our personhood. And what happens when people start talking to each other about something in common? Culture! (NB: The weather does not count as a topic to start a culture).

So next time you find yourself tumbling over people’s shins to get to the middle of the row for an empty seat, appreciate the unifying power of our most imperial building.

You can bet lectures were as boring today as they were a hundred years ago.

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