Mourning the mezzanine

The Henry F. Hall Building’s mezzanine booking space is no longer available for students

News Helena Reyes Teruel — Published September 20, 2026 0 minutes

The decision was made unilaterally with no input or consideration from the CSU or other affected associations. The CSU was not informed that this space was an issue until the ban was announced.

“For so many students, [recruitment at the mezzanine] is an entry to student life. Losing that would cause irreparable damage to student life,” CSU campaigns coordinator Julianna Smith said.

Clubs, student services and associations often use the Hall mezzanine to connect with students. Most students naturally converge in this space during the day, making it a great place for visibility. With this new ban, students are also not allowed to hand out flyers in this area. According to Concordia policy, students can hand out flyers in the mezzanine only if they have a table booked. However, First Stop, a service managed directly by Concordia, still has comfortably tabled there since the semester started. 

CSU campaigns, the CSU, the Arts and Sciences Federation of Associations (ASFA) and the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) posted a petition on Sept. 18.

This petition states that “there is no other space on campus where students from all four faculties cross paths with one another.”

The petition seeks to reverse this decision, give sole authority to the CSU over the mezzanine and to have consent from the CSU and other student associations on future decisions over student spaces. 

The petition is addressed to the people involved in the decision, such as Provost and Vice President Academic Effrosyni (Faye) Diamantoudi and Vice President Services and Sustainability Michael Di Grappa, among others. 

“For so many students, [recruitment at the mezzanine] is an entry to student life. Losing that would cause irreparable damage to student life.” — Julianna Smith, CSU campaigns coordinator

On Sept. 17, CSU campaigns held a closed-off meeting to discuss the ban's impact and possible solutions. Smith said students have expressed their appreciation for the mezzanine as a place for building community and political exchange.

Internal affairs coordinator Lina Elbakaye noted that this decision will affect student elections that use the mezzanine to campaign as well as awareness/mobilization efforts. She exemplified this by sharing how last year, she and other senators tabled at the mezzanine to inform people about the Limited Term Appointments situation.

“The [mezzanine] was one of our sources to be able to explain to students and teach them about stuff that is going around on our campus because not everyone reads the news, not everyone interacts with student governance,” Elbakaye said.

She also mentioned how this decision has affected plans to increase exposure and raise awareness of student services, such as the Legal Clinic, the House and Job Resource Centre, the Advocacy Centre and other fee levy groups.

“They’re just stripping away our freedom of speech at this point,” Elbakaye said.

In response to questions regarding the decision, Concordia’s deputy spokesperson, Julie Fortier, told The Link that booking remains available in the LB, MB and EV Atriums kiosks, SP at Loyola and the seventh-floor lounge of the Hall building.

“There is a multitude of other locations that student groups can book across campus in areas visible to students,” Fortier said.