Ho Plaza

Ho Plaza is the main path through central campus and a hub for student organizations. Several iconic buildings line Ho Plaza, including McGraw Tower, Willard Straight Hall and Sage Chapel. On any given afternoon Ho Plaza is the place to be. Students gather to promote social clubs, a cappella concerts and fundraising bake sales, and to demonstrate different points of view.

Media Gallery

Members of Cornell Nazaqat, an Indian classical dance team, perform a dance called kathak on Ho Plaza outside Willard Straight Hall.

Members of Book Wagon, a student-run program to promote reading literature for leisure, gather in Willard Straight Hall.

Dancers wearing traditional Hanboks perform in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room.

A student gymnast practices a handstand in the Willard Straight Memorial Room.

Inventory racks at Cornell Health Pharmacy, with a service counter at right.

A medical provider at Cornell Health evaluates a patient.

The exterior of Barnes Hall, a red brick building situated on Ho Plaza surrounded by trees.

A student from the SC Johnson School of Business engages in a one-on-one coaching session with an executive in Barnes Hall as part of the Marketing Executive Coaching Program.

A student talks with a representative from a hospitality employer at aCornell Nolan School career fair.

Five individuals are seen talking to each other, standing under a red 10x10-foot tent with a red top.

Willard Straight Hall

Student Resource Centers

Cornell Health

Barnes Hall

⭐ Willard Straight Hall

Opening in 1925, Willard Straight Hall was one of the nation’s first student unions and remains a central hub of Cornell student life. Day and night, students gather in meeting rooms, an art gallery, music room, Big Red Lounge activity space and a browsing library. Two dining facilities, Okenshields and Straight from the Market, offer menus to satisfy all appetites. Willard Straight Hall also houses the Office of the Dean of Students, a student service center and the Cornell Cinema.

⭐ Student Resource Centers

Cornell attracts and supports talented scholars from diverse backgrounds. The university is proud to offer resource centers for students to connect with and explore interests, needs, identities and cultures. These Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment and Belonging include the Asian and Asian American Center, Black Student Empowerment, Latinx Student Empowerment, First-Generation and Low-Income Student Support, Gender Equity Resource Center, LGBT Resource Center, Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making and Undocumented/DACA Student Support.

⭐ Cornell Health

Cornell Health is a full-service student center providing students with medical and mental health care, wellness services, a pharmacy, X-rays, immunizations, advocacy, referrals and more. The health center is open to all Cornell students and is staffed by over 200 professionals. For emergency care or referrals to specialty services, Cayuga Medical Center and urgent-care facilities are only 10 minutes away by car. Cornell Health is also home to Student Disability Services and provides a range of accommodations and services.

⭐ Barnes Hall

Barnes Hall is home to the Cornell Career Services office, which supports students creating and editing their resumés, searching for internships, interviewing for jobs and navigating employment offers. The office includes a resource library, a photo kiosk for professional headshots, career advising and connecting with alumni to prepare them for life after college. The center’s on-campus recruiting program offers students the opportunity to interview on campus for internships and professional positions following graduation. In addition, each school/college has its own career center whose offerings complement those provided by the Career Services team, as well as its own student services office.

Barnes Hall is also home to the Cornell Live View, the university’s 24/7 live camera. If you are visiting in person and standing on Ho Plaza now, look up, smile and wave!