The Johnson Center: When it was once The Spot

Since my first semester at Santa Ana College in Fall 2018, there has been no place for me to chill with my buddies and relax.

The campus is nice but doesn’t have a community center.

It began to feel like there was no community on campus.

The only glimmer of hope I saw was The Spot, a cramped and small space located in The Village.The Spot is a trailer and inside it’s the same size as 2 classrooms joint together. And it kinda looks like a dispensary on the outside. Like the Center before it has pool tables and a gaming station, but does not have a cafeteria.

The center being demolished is a sad and annoying sight. If only the construction could have been done quicker. More students would be able to have a place to eat, study, and have protection from the rain.

Open benches with an umbrella for cover is not preferred, but it will do. Some hang out by their buildings for their next classes. Or near the Volcano in the center of Campus. The volcano does not erupt every hour by hour, but it just spouts water constantly. Hooray…

The murals were once encouraging and memorable, but the new building concepts are bland. Hopefully, the SAC artist who painted the murals can paint more onto the new building.

I have interviewed people who’ve had family members who’ve known the rich history of the Johnson Center.

My own Mom included as well. She gave me a glance at her history when she used to attend SAC in the early 2000s. She said that she would be studying and eating on the second floor of the Johnson Center. Before it was demolished and the green fence was put up, I walked throughout the second floor of the ghost building.

But all there is now is a big ol’ pile of dirt.

To create this sense of community, there needs to be more art and culture.

I believe that culture and music can bring everybody together to have a great experience at college. I saw the murals as encouraging and memorable, but the new building replacing the Center is bland and moderate. Hopefully, the SAC artist who painted the murals can paint more onto the new building.

In order to create a community with students on campus and give new life to those who confine themselves in their studies. There has to be a welcoming vibe for all the different cultures that pass throughout Santa Ana. The Center was a place where all races could cultivate and just the presence without a building like that shows in the student body.