With the news of the university’s plans to tear down the Hilton Room this summer and replace it with a new food court, the Optimist would like to use this editorial to thank the Hilton Room for all the great memories.

Dear Hilton Room,
Saying goodbye is always hard, but after your years of service to this university, it is appropriate.

The old adage is true, you don’t know how much you truly love someone until they’re gone.

You have been a beacon of florescent-lit hope to this university and will be missed as we wait in line to use our meal plans and bean bucks next fall on the ground you used to call home. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated, and you are a martyr that will not be forgotten.

Without your sacrifice we could not eat hot toasted subs, personal pan pizzas and chicken sandwiches in the area next to the Campus Store. Your death will bring new life to the tastebuds and stomachs of ACU students craving Quiznos, Pizza Hut or Chick-fil-A.

But despite your impending death, we will always have the memories and contributions you made to this university and the Campus Center.

Whether it be an awkward departmental Chapel, long-winded luncheon with a plate full of rubbery chicken, stale bread and dry mashed potatoes or the countless number of interest meetings you gave a home, your impact is obvious.

You have gracefully opened your brown doors and carpeted floor to social clubs, student groups and hordes of overeager Welcome Week freshmen. And we hope retail restaurants replacing you will not take your holy ground for granted.

Your carpet covered with red and green vines has seen the bottom of numerous shoes throughout your nearly 40-year life in the Campus Center, and your beige walls have kept students cozy for just as long.

With you gone, where else will the “Popcorn and Possibilities” people be ignored by passing students? And where else will we have job fairs applicable only to over-achieving seniors?

You will be missed, and thanks for the sandwich.