Plank Gym, Basement to Bar: Student Perspectives
The bar in Plank Basement offers students cheap snacks and a limited amount of free drinks to students aged 21 and over. (Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian
This article originally appeared on pages 18 and 19 of the No. 4 February 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine and compiled student opinions on the new Plank Basement Bar & Eatery.
Compiled by David Poulos, Opinions Editor
By Paul Zaim ’28
I believe that the new Plank Bar is a great addition to the campus atmosphere, providing a new casual gathering place right in the heart of campus on Friday and Saturday nights. I’m excited about the opening of the outdoor beer garden after Spring Break, and I think it will become a very popular place as time goes on and the weather warms up.
By Elise Dailey ’26
I appreciate the concept of the Campus Bar, and the drink options actually aren’t that bad. However, I don’t understand the reasoning for putting in the money to build the area and to supply the bar with alcohol instead of investing in other areas of campus.
By Jeffrey D. Torrieri ’27
The social space in Plank Basement offers a new dimension to the opportunities that Gettysburg College students have to interact with on campus. The casual environment makes it easy and fun to relax there after a long week. Having the movie theater, game room, and LP room included in and around the space makes it easy for people with varying interests and weekend plans to enjoy its offerings. Personally, I have been at the social space each week since its opening at the beginning of the semester, and each time l’ve had a great experience socializing with my friends and brothers while also feeling like I was an active part of campus and its culture.
By Katie Lauriello ’25
The new bar in Plank basement offers a cozy hangout spot where you can get drinks without going to a fraternity. They have a nice selection of free drinks and cheap food along with non-alcoholic drinks for underclassmen. However, I question the use of campus funds on a bar, specifically. Though it makes sense in terms of building social connections, there are other parts of campus that could have used the money spent on the bar, not to mention the cost of alcohol that will be burning a hole in the College’s pocket. Despite my skepticism, I appreciate the bar for offering a new social space to meet with friends and relax over the weekend, and I wonder how the space will develop. With some time and care, I can see it becoming a central hub on campus.
By Emma Blackman ’25
I had no idea what to expect when I first heard about the new basement bar. At first, my criticism was that it displaced offices in Plank used for student and faculty purposes and other rooms allocated for extracurriculars, but I think that it has great potential to bring the student body together. The space does a good job of focusing more on social presence in the middle of campus, which is nice. Like most though, I wish funds were focused on the ongoing challenges and complaints coming from the student body.
By Ashton Doll ’25
Gettysburg College has been needing a social space in the middle of campus since I came here four years ago. I am happy that the college has finally gotten one besides the Attic, because the journey there is distant and treacherous, especially during the winter. Plank is a quaint, central location where people from all sides of campus can come together and socialize.
I participated in an event with some friends there and I had a blast. The basement was full of happy, talkative people enjoying their Friday night with friends. There was a great selection of drinks and snacks, and they also had non-alcoholic beverages for the underclassmen. It is a very inclusive space!
The Beer Garden has given a new life to Plank basement. Please check out the cinnamon pretzels! I promise I did not have 5 when I went there!
By Yaman Acharya ’26
Gettysburg College’s Beer Garden in the basement of Plank Gym is easily one of the best weekend hangout spots on campus. With free beer and a relaxed atmosphere, it’s the perfect place to unwind after a long week. The space is cozy, with great lighting and a social vibe that makes it easy to meet up with friends or even make new ones. Whether you’re looking to kick back and chat or just enjoy a laid-back evening, the Beer Garden delivers.
The fact that they’re expanding outdoors after spring break only makes it more exciting. I can already imagine chilling outside with a cold drink under the spring sun. It’s honestly one of the coolest additions to campus life, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you’re seriously missing out. Weekends just got way better!
By Annie Weaver ’26
I have mixed opinions on the bar in Plank Gym. I think a lot of the renovations made to the basement make it a fun place to hang out with my friends now and then. It’s a nice alternative to getting alcohol, as a lot of people go to fraternity parties to drink. That being said, I think that it’s an interesting use of the college’s money to install a place to get alcohol, as underage drinking definitely happens at this school, and frats create a space for that to happen. Sure, the new bar is probably a safer alternative compared to drinking frat “juice”, but for students not legally able to drink — which is most first years, sophomores and even a fair amount of juniors — the Plank Gym bar obviously cannot be an alternate drinking option.
It kind of defeats the purpose of having a new campus bar, especially when we have one already at the Attic. I think it is convenient that it’s much closer to the rest of campus than the Attic, but the Attic is also a better space for school-sponsored parties, dances and live music than Plank Gym is. I do think that if the school’s goal is to draw more people to the Plank Gym bar over other social events such as fraternity parties, they should also appeal more to the non-drinking crowd by supplying better snacks than popcorn and hot pretzels. I don’t really think that the bar is a bad thing, but I still feel a bit confused by it.
