Types of students at Roy O. West Library

Yes, they do exist! These are the students who have their life together. They have a study schedule, they have colorful markers and flashcards, and they are ready to spend the next three to two hours at the library. They know they will be able to get all of their work done in time— after all, they are probably working on assignments that aren’t due for another week or so.

We’ve all been there—  it’s midterms or finals week and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. These students can usually be spotted arriving at Roy sometime in the late afternoon, equipped with headphones, laptop chargers, extra sweaters, and energy drinks or cold brew coffee. They’ll stay in the library until it closes—  and then migrate to the next available study spot for the remainder of the night.

Have you ever tried studying with your friends and realized that it took you four hours to finish something that you should’ve been able to do in less than an hour? These students come in groups of four to five and are always located on the first floor—  after all, they spend most of their time talking, rather than getting their homework done. 

Usually goes hand-in-hand with the friends studying together, but these students will also bring a wide array of food with them. And I don’t mean small snacks or coffee—  this will usually be take-out from Hoover or one of the local Greencastle restaurants. As someone who had been this student multiple times during my freshman year, there is nothing quite as enjoyable as eating late-night in Roy O. West. 

Now, these students are different from the ones pulling an all-nighter in the sense that they chose not to stay up, but study in the morning and during lunch breaks. The students staying up all night know they will turn their assignment in on time—  they have all night to do it! The cramming students don’t have that luxury. They will try to get their paper finished in the last twenty minutes before the deadline or try to review study guides in the six and a half minutes they have before they need to leave for class.

These are the students that you never actually see in Roy—  you only see their backpacks, or notes, or pens left behind in the library.