The ARC library is the main place to study on campus, but it can oftentimes be extremely packed and busy during the times there are the most students are on campus.
As college students, we all need a quiet place to study, and take a break in between classes.
The library is clearly the best place to do that. It provides information, resources, thousands of books, laptops you can borrow, and computers for student use.
It has three stories of available seats from individual cubicles and cushioned sofas, to outdoor tables and large study rooms.
So what better place is there to study on campus than the library?
Despite it being three stories high, the library is oftentimes packed with students that come to college in the morning, making it difficult sometimes to find open seats or computers when you need it.
Students that come to college early in the morning or late in the day have an advantage in finding their prefered seats and open study rooms.
ARC student Adriana Eslamian said that she doesn’t have a problem finding a spot when she comes at 8 a.m. in the morning.
“You can usually find an empty desk to sit at”, Eslamian said. Although, she admitted there is difficulty in finding an open study room sometimes.
The most popular hours for students to be on campus are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the school week, which explains why the library is very packed.
Interestingly enough, these are the times that we have become used to going to school since we began in the first grade and finished off in high school.
This school-time mentality has been engraved into us since we first experienced going to school as children.
Coming to college gives us the freedom to work our class schedules away from the teaching that school ‘happens’ in the morning.
The problem here is that most college students come to campus from morning till 3 p.m., while other times of the day are extremely vacant.
This makes it difficult, although not entirely impossible to find an open spot or computer in the library during those hours.
Finding a spot to quietly study where you feel most comfortable, or a place to sleep before having to go to your next class can get complicated if all the couches, study rooms, or your prefered spots are taken.
Furthermore, half of the first floor of the library is dedicated to computers for student use but often times students find themselves waiting quite a while for an available computer.
ARC student Paul Condruic explained that “computers are always packed” when he comes to study or use the printers.
Study rooms are also first to be filled by study groups or friends looking for a place to socialize and study.
The problem is that there aren’t many rooms and oftentimes bigger groups must kick out individuals that occupy the study rooms.
It’s fair to say that people experience situations differently, depending on whether they’re with a bigger group trying to find a room, or an individual looking for a specific spot.
As ARC student Ana Radu explained, “it’s never difficult finding a spot in the library”.
While some students might see this as a regular situation, others might not be as disturbed by it.
As students we should be more open to coming to college at different times than we have become used to for most of our school life.
Coming earlier or later in the day to study, take classes, or work on class assignments can also be beneficial for all of us individually.
We should erase this school-time mentality that has been taught to us when we were kids and be open to different courses of action.
