The building was intended to lead to "the enrichment of the human contacts of student life," according to remarks given by Straight at the hall's dedication.

[citation needed] Cornell historian Corey Earle notes that, at the time, "it was unusual to have a building with no academic purpose.

In 1918, recently widowed, Dorothy Whitney Straight met a Cornell Agriculture student, Leonard Knight Elmhirst, who persuaded her to visit the campus.

[7][8] Murals in the lobby by Ezra Winter date from 1926 and represent Willard Straight's business interests in China, and his enthusiasm for the arts.

While the shields are not used as official graphic material or as visual identity for each college, similar inspired designs are employed in symbolic banners used at commencement ceremonies.

[9] Dorothy Straight's preference was for the building to be equally accessible to men and women, but she encountered strong faculty opposition.

In the 1968–69 school year, the university judicial system was the center of a controversy in connection with the disciplining of African-American students who had engaged in a protest.

[12] (Ithaca police reportedly suspected, but never proved, that the cross was burned by members of the campus Afro-American Society as a pretext for further protest).

[13] As racial tensions escalated, some African-American students demanded amnesty for the accused protesters as well as the establishment of an Africana Studies center.

During much of that day and into the evening, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), led by C. David Burak, organized continuous, supportive picketing in front of the Hall's main entrance, consisting of a circle of about 50 marchers at a time.

[16] Late that evening, the picketing was replaced by having a limited number of volunteers form a protective cordon outside the building, overnight.

The photos of the students marching out of the Straight carrying rifles and wearing bandoleers made the national news and won a Pulitzer Prize for Associated Press photographer Steve Starr.

[20] Beyond Cornell, the Straight takeover led to the New York State Legislature enacting the Henderson Law, which required each college to adopt "Rules of the Maintenance of Public Order.

[22] In a move reminiscent of the 1969 takeover, 300 marchers again occupied Willard Straight Hall for a few hours after presenting a list of demands to president Martha Pollack.

[26][25] The building currently encloses several dining facilities (Okenshields, The Ivy Room, and The Bears Den), and lounge spaces for students.

[9] Amenities such as teleconferencing and modern air conditioning are restricted by the ancient electrical system, and the building is not adequately wheelchair accessible.