Rodrigue’s Coffee House, or Rods, is one of my favorite places at Fordham. It’s where I found my friends and that long-promised concept of a collegiate community. That’s why I think so many people (including myself) were frustrated by its prolonged closure during the month of September. 

Of course I don’t know you, so I don’t know whether you’ve ever been inside Rods. Maybe you’re a member, or maybe you went to Rods once during your freshman year and decided the scene wasn’t for you. If you’re not familiar, Rods is best known as a student-run coffeehouse, but it’s also a venue for local bands, monthly open mics and occasional drag shows. 

This summer, however, Rods was also home to some maintenance issues. After allowing the coffeehouse to be fully open to students for one whole week, Fordham’s administration decided to close Rods and refurbish the beloved building, just when things were really getting started again.

For nearly a month, Rods was closed at a time when it should’ve been welcoming a whole new class through its doors. Thankfully, we were still able to host a concert and open mic on the lawn outside the historic building, but being in view of confused, late-night P.O.D. customers doesn’t quite compare to the ambiance of Rods’ well-decorated interior. 

Rods’ walls are lined with art and photographs from years before any of our times at this school, making it a sort of museum. Every year, new ornaments are added to the wall and the display of memorabilia is expanded. Although it’s a notably progressive place, there is a hefty value on its traditions, a detailed list of which could likely be its own article. Rods being closed “indefinitely” for maintenance was quite the deviation from custom. 

I hope this background on Rods helps clarify why the temporary closing is so uniquely upsetting. Rods has very recently been allowed to re-open, but for most of September, Rods members had no word on when we’d be allowed to return to our sacred space. Our e-board members turned in their keys and after that, we were all largely left in the dark. 

If you’re an athlete, imagine having your season postponed indefinitely. If you’re extremely involved in a school club, imagine having no idea when meetings would start back up again. After a few weeks, you would probably notice a difference in your mental health and daily routine. A third location — a space to go between home and work to build relationships and spend leisure time — is certainly something I missed during Rods’ closure. I spent an increasing amount of time in my apartment bedroom. Combined with the lack of communication from administration, my fellow members and I started to grow concerned by whether or not we’d be able to return to Rods in a timely manner. We brought our anxieties to a USG meeting. 

It was here, sitting face-to-face with the adults in charge of Rods’ refurbishment, that we were finally able to demonstrate the urgency of our feelings. This isn’t some club that people signed up for to type out another line on their resumé. This meeting might seem trivial, but I believe it is this push that catalyzed our reopening. Who knows how long we would have been stuck in limbo if we had sat tight in our bedrooms, twiddling our thumbs waiting for a verdict. 

As much as this argument is a dig at the Fordham administration, it’s also a call to action for anyone who is hesitant to have their voice heard.

Speaking from experience, it doesn’t take some grand protest or dramatic speech to speed action up. Concentrated, demonstrated care seems enough to break free from a bureaucratic muddle. 

Rods is back and open for business just in time for autumn. I am excited to put seasonal syrups in my lattes, and I’m thrilled to be back inside the Rods building. As the weather gets colder and we become resigned to the indoors, there’s nowhere else I would prefer to relax than this cozy and historic building. 

Emma Foley, FCRH ’24, is an English major from Burlington, Conn.