Ping pong, pool, foosball, an out-of-order air hockey table and a cabinet full of various board and card games. These activities await students in the newly reopened Low Tide Lounge. Weeks earlier, the Low Tide Lounge sat abandoned, lights shut off, and filled with clutter and surplus furniture from around campus. But due to student outcry and the overwhelming support from the latest ASG student survey, the lounge has been returned to some of its former glory. Students are already making use of the lounge during all available hours, and some wish it were open even longer.

“The reason it closed was because of the pandemic and we had some issues with it not being the most welcoming environment,” says Kai Hinch, communications officer for ASG. In the past, the Low Tide Lounge was monopolized by a group of students that didn’t share the games with other students, and that created problems, says Hynch. Now, the lights are on, there are plenty of games for everyone, and so far everyone has been sharing with one another.

“We have various people checking down there during ASG office hours. We also have security going down there sometimes just making sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to be doing,” says Hinch. Security checking students’ sharing abilities might not be the most appealing idea to some, but hopefully, it will lead to a more welcoming environment for the majority of students.

“I think it is a great place to hang out with friends. It is my first time coming here today. My friend Joshua just told me” says SCC student Vilavouth Phommachith outside of the Low Tide Lounge. Joshua Fernandes is playing ping pong with his friends inside. Phommachith and Fernandes both agree that ping pong and billiards are their favorite games in the lounge.

Among the present activities, Student Life and ASG plan to reinstate the community video games that were a part of the original appeal to the lounge. Hynch says the existing console will be removed in favor of a newer one and that the school is also working on finishing the repairs on the air hockey table.

Oto Motoshio, a player on SCC’s men’s basketball team, says he wishes the lounge were open longer. “I’m in the dorm and I have a lot of free time in the night so I hope it is open then,” he says. Currently, the lounge is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fernandes chimes in “Yeah, honestly I wish it was open more often like until 7 or 8 p.m. You can meet more people that way.”

For the time being, students can enjoy the lounge up until 4 p.m. and rent equipment such as pool cues and ping pong paddles on the third floor of the PUB at the Student Life Office. The only information one needs to give ASG is your name and CTC Link ID and then it’s game time.