Will Porayouw, Contributing Photographer

In its fourth closure in two weeks, Commons will close its doors on Friday in preparation for “University events.” Last week, the Schwarzman Center closed last Wednesday through Friday to prepare for an event celebrating the space’s opening.

In emails about the closure last week, the University used similarly vague language by describing the Saturday event, which featured singer John Legend among other performers, as “University events.”  This Friday, Commons will close again in preparation for a Yale Medal celebration event, Schwarzman Center director of marketing and communications Maurice Harris told the News.  

The Elm and the Bow Wow will remain open on Friday, and the latter will accept meal swipes until 4 p.m. — a change that comes after students previously criticized the lack of dining options at Yale after 3 p.m. due to class scheduling conflicts.

The vague communication surrounding these closures has also prompted criticisms from students. The News spoke to seven students about the lack of transparency from the University.

“I think it would just be nice to know what’s going on with the school, especially with something that’s this big, because the Schwarzman Center I’d say is a pretty big part of campus life,” Karley Yung ’25 said about this past weekend’s festivities.

What happened last weekend?

On Saturday, Yale hosted a celebration of the opening of the Yale Schwarzman Center.

The event included welcoming and opening remarks by emcee and Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen ’24, University President Peter Salovey, Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis and Stephen A. Schwarzman ’69.

According to a brochure obtained by the News,the event was headlined by musician John Legend, who gave a special guest performance. Additionally, a musical selection was performed by Grammy-winning musician Robert Lopez ’97 as well as Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Kevin Olusola ’11 and Lupita Nyong’o DRA ’11 gave a video message.

Yale College Council Vice President Iris Li ’24, who was invited to the event, told the News that she enjoyed it. 

“I do believe that this opening event highlighted some of the best that Schwarzman has to offer, since the entire building from the Underground to the Dome were filled with different performances,” Li wrote in an email to the News.

Lack of transparency

The News spoke to seven students, none of whom had learned what had occurred last weekend or would be occurring this upcoming Friday from University communication.

Yung told the News that she found out that an opening celebration had taken place from conversations in a group chat of one performance group and discovered that John Legend had performed from a friend’s Snapchat story.

Ayush Tibrewal ’26 and Zachary Zitzewitz ’26 found out about the event from a post on Fizz, a social networking app that has made campus buzz recently. Content on the platform described the event as a “private celebration.”

Jason Jiang ’25 told the News that the lack of information provided over last week’s event was “indicative of the problem” over the lack of transparency surrounding the University’s communication.

“It’s really annoying that I have no clue what’s going on and it’s hard to find out other than just vague emails,” Jiang said.

Makda Assefa ’26 also told the News that she had wished the University had been more transparent about the event and wished she would have been able to attend.

“How are you going to bring an A-list celebrity to campus and not tell anyone?” Assefa said. “That’s just insane to me.”

Students also expressed frustration at the lack of explanation surrounding Commons’ closings because of its popularity as a convenient lunch option for those who have classes during regular lunchtime hours. Eugene Han ’25 told the News that while he probably would not prefer the decision to close Commons, he nevertheless wished there was at least some sort of transparency over why it was happening.

“We kind of rely on Commons just because we have classes that run through the normal lunchtime hours,” Han said. “So being blackboxed out of that information, it’s kind of frustrating just because this is our main way of getting lunch.”

A 2015 advisory committee report notes that the Schwarzman Center contains multipurpose rooms, including Commons. However, three students interviewed by the News — Assefa, Han and Evan Hu ’24 — said that they were unaware that Commons served as a mixed-use space.

“The primary purpose of our university-wide emails about the service change is to communicate the change, as well as the various dining options available,” Harris told the News in response to students’ criticisms. “Guests receive event details in separate communications.”  

What’s happening on Friday?

This Friday evening, the University will host the annual Yale Medal Celebration in Commons, according to Schwarzman Center director of marketing and communications Maurice Harris. 

Salovey will be in attendance during Friday’s event.

“I always appreciate the opportunity to celebrate alumni who have done so much to champion Yale’s mission through their volunteer work, leadership commitments, and other service activities,” Salovey wrote in an email to the News.

The Yale Medal is the highest honor presented by the Yale Alumni Association. Presented to over 340 alumni, the award is given to those who have “made lasting and significant contributions to Yale.” The Yale Alumni website, in a post honoring this year’s recipients, notes that they are to be honored in a special ceremony “to be held later this year.”

The Commons dining hall was established in 1901.