We are all familiar with the KJ table hunt. KJ tables are few and far between and as a result, the competition in high. If you spot a table, you have to take it immediately because at any given moment someone else is probably eyeing that same one. This high level of competition encourages people to claim a table early on and mark their territory, leaving books and backpacks at the table for hours just so they can be sure they have a place to study in KJ later in the day. During finals week this competition level can be extreme. People leave their things at a table overnight or even for multiple days at a time just to maintain a prized table in KJ. Although I too am guilty of leaving my books at a KJ table for hours, and I think this habit attests to the trustworthiness of the Hamilton community, seeing the obvious waste of space in KJ frustrates me because a very annoying problem could be solved so easily.
This deficiency of tables in KJ particularly effects students who live on the Dark Side of campus because KJ is the only academic building with study space on that side of campus. The Light Side offers the Library, CJ, and the Science Center, all of which have ample seating and study spaces. The Dark Side has KJ, Kennedy and Opus. Unfortunately, Kennedy has minimal seating and is clearly not intended as a study space for students. Opus tends to be loud and more conducive to casual couch work, which only appeals to a small portion of students. Clearly, the Dark Side lacks the infrastructure it needs to support the studies of its residents.
So, the obvious solution is that KJ needs more tables. The obviousness of this solution infuriates me because KJ has so much wasted space. Huge open hallways and strange empty areas that are a result of the building’s inefficient architecture. The building does not lack the room for probably 20 more tables, so why aren’t they there? Although I really appreciate the aesthetic of KJ, I think that efficiency needs to win out in this case. Please give us more tables so the Dark Siders can have somewhere to work!