Commentary: Nothing Breezy About This Investment

Since NWA purchased the Plaza and Tower buildings and the row of restaurants on SW Jefferson St., the school board and administration have been brainstorming various ways to make the school’s downtown campus more welcoming for students.

In the middle of last year, the idea to beautify the “breezeway” was first introduced to the student body. The proposition was simple: Now that the school owned the Plaza and Tower buildings, it had the ability to convert the alley between the buildings into something more decorative — an outside space for students to relax and spend their free time.

Envision this: As students turn the corner into the alley toward Plaza, flowers border the sidewalk in portable planters. Lined beside them are benches — perfect for reading a book, hanging out with friends or doing homework. Giant awnings are suspended between the buildings to shelter the breezeway when it rains. The walls of Tower are brightly colored in murals. This is the scene that captivated the mind of the school.

It’s hard to deny that the image is appealing. If there is one thing NWA lacks, it is a defined campus. The newly renovated breezeway would add greatly to the school’s campus, connecting NWA’s scattered buildings. It would serve as a hub for students and lend the school a presence on the block. So what’s not to like?

For one, the idea doesn’t seem to be sparking excitement among students.

“I think we need to ask students, ‘Would you use this space over the museum steps?’ said Dashiell Weinstein, a senior who firmly believes that the breezeway idea should be “scrapped.”  “I’m not sure I would, personally,” he said.

In September 2023, after movable planters appeared in the alley blocking thru traffic, the school sent out an email asking students to start using the area as they wished.

“While we don’t have final plans for the space yet, we encourage you all to start making that space your own now,” read the email. “You can bring a camp chair or blanket from home and eat lunch outside (while the weather holds!), or you can just gather there to read a book, work on a project or have club meetings — the options are limitless.”

And yet, the following months saw no students using the space in the way the school had intended, not even when the weather was pleasant. Yes, we did see students congregate and eat on the steps of the Tower building as well as the small courtyard on the building’s side, but not the exposed and unwelcoming strip of the breezeway.  So why are students disinclined to spend time in that space?

Set aside for a moment the fact that no noticeable progress has been made by the school toward achieving the vision set forth last year — there are still a host of other reasons why students may not want to “hang out” in the breezeway.

First, and most obvious, the location of NWA plays a huge role in how students view their environment. For many, the little stretch of downtown between buildings has always been a passing space. Trying to organize an activity in the breezeway is inconvenient, awkward and frankly not worth it. Students would rather continue using classrooms and spaces like P100, or do what NWA students have been doing since time immemorial — meet outside of school.

A downtown campus poses another problem to the breezeway concept: What happens to the space when school is out of session? We are located in a troubled neighborhood with poor security. NWA buildings can be locked in case of a threat, but it’s not so simple for the breezeway, which anyone can access. Security guards are stationed around campus during school hours, but what goes on in the alley between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. is out of the school’s control. With a needle exchange and countless homeless encampments nearby, not to mention the few instances where strangers in the neighborhood wandered into the Plaza building, it’s hard to imagine an outside space that will ever feel truly safe. This promise of an outdoor space designated for the school, a “pseudo-campus,” is unfortunately difficult to make true.

Inge Hoogerhuis, Director of Admissions, said the school is looking into establishing a fenced boundary for the space in hopes of minimizing non-NWA traffic through the area.

“When we think about creating this space, it’s about making the students feel like they’re in a comfortable, safe space,” said Hoogerhuis. “We’re in the middle of a downtown area, so people can wander through. It’s important for us to have this space that is just ours, just like other schools do.”

But even if the school could fence off the region and change students’ mentality about the spaces between buildings, the most fundamental truth will remain unchanged: Being outside in this part of downtown Portland is not pleasant. Most “other schools” that Hoogerhuis mentions have a campus with trees and greenery that make the outdoors an enjoyable place. Sitting on benches beside flower planters, surrounded by the smell of weed and car fumes from the nearby roaring highway isn’t desirable, and never will be. It does not compare with the campuses of Oregon Episcopal School or Catlin Gabel. But that shouldn’t be NWA’s goal.

NWA has long prided itself on being unique. Its strengths are its dedication to its students, the arts and academics, the brilliant faculty and the downtown-integrated campus. The school’s endeavors to make the block a more welcoming place for students are commendable; its efforts are, for the most part, in vain. There will never be a future — barring an extensive investment into remodeling the alley and parking lots behind Plaza and Tower — in which students flock to the breezeway to eat lunch, socialize and meet with their clubs. The cost of remodeling the breezeway is no doubt sizeable. It seems foolhardy to invest such significant funds into a project that is predestined to fall short. There are, however, other ways to achieve the same goal.

In the last two years, there has been a concerted effort by the school to populate Plaza with a number of couches. The twin couches on the second floor of the Plaza building are never empty. Students work on homework, relax and gather to gossip and eat lunch. The “Offish” (the study space opposite P207), too, is a major hotspot, whether it’s being used for last minute studying before a quiz (personal experience), a brief nap during Study Hall or a place to conduct a quiet interview. And this year, NWA’s Library Club established the school’s first book lending system, replete with a little lounge of sofa, chairs and table. The spot has become an increasingly popular gathering place for many groups of students, and is always being used in some fashion. All of these areas were popularized without the need for a pleading email from administration. All of these are perfect examples of how students want to gather. But we need more of them.

The combined capacity of all these spaces amounts to fewer than 20 students. High school students could greatly benefit from additional spaces that serve the same purpose. The school should seize upon this opportunity to create more of these spaces so that all students have access.

The large open space in P100 is barely furnished, and save for the handful of people who eat lunch there, students and teachers alike use it sparingly. With just two rugs and a couple of sofas, however, it could transform into the most active student hub on campus, functioning as a lounge and study area. With a ping pong table and some exercise equipment, it could become a recreational center for students to have fun while moving around. The possibilities are endless.

And best of all? P100, too, has bare walls that could be covered, just covered, with murals.