HOME TO: International Programs, Language Center, Rathskeller |
Old Chapel is a space that gathers together a number of programs and student resources. Dating to 1814, and originally used as a chapel and student meeting hall, it still serves as an event site for everything from engineering demonstrations to Black History Month and Women’s History Month celebrations.
Head up to the third floor for the International Programs Office, which coordinates terms and mini-terms abroad, with 40 programs in 30 countries. Need help conversing in those other lands? Go next door to the Language Center to hone your linguistic skills – no matter what your level – with language mentors, assistants and conversation partners in multiple languages. The center operates as an intercultural hub that encourages linguistic proficiency and the exploration of global perspectives.
In the building’s main hall, the ever-popular Ozone Café takes over most Fridays, with organic lunches, including many vegetarian and vegan options, made and served by students. The café promotes sustainability, the harvest of local farmers and Union’s own Octopus’s Garden.
Enjoy the subterranean ambience of the Rathskeller, a student eatery and snack bar, recently remodeled, that has been an Old Chapel hangout for students since 1949. Or grab your lunch and move up to Mrs. Perkins Garden. This walled-in courtyard near the Rathskeller entrance is named for linguist and writer Annie Perkins, the wife of a 19th century chemistry professor.
Factoid: A bigger than life-size tin and copper bell rescued from Union’s South Colonnade was restored in 1984 by the Class of 1947 and is on display in the lobby of Old Chapel.
