By your sophomore year, you might expect to know campus like the back of your hand. At least I thought I did. But just the other day, a woman who was visiting asked me where some building was and I still don’t have any idea what building she was talking about. Am I just clueless or are there just so many spots on campus you can constantly discover (even though we’re a pretty small campus)? Either way, I don’t even mind. I love finding new and exciting spots on campus to just visit/chill/study in. Here are some “secret” places on campus I wish I had known about earlier, for all you freshmen out there:
St. Clare Room
This is a gorgeous, artsy room on the third floor library that a surprisingly small number of people actually know exists. There are some cool events that happen here, so make sure you check the library email list for those! The St. Clare Room is also used for Board of Trustees and Board of Regents meetings. If that doesn’t tell you anything about how great of a room it is, I’m not sure what will. When the room isn’t being used for anything else, it is open to use as a quiet study space for SCU students, quiet enough to hear a pin drop!
Study Rooms in the Library
Now this might be something more people know about; but as a confused freshman, I didn’t find out about these rooms until maybe the end of winter quarter. Well, I knew they existed but not that you could book them online. These Study Rooms are super useful for any small group meetings (there’s even a projector and a conference table), or just to study with your friends if you need the complete silence. The online booking system is incredibly easy and convenient too.
The Forge Garden
The Forge Garden is a half-acre garden and center for sustainability education at SCU. I’ve wanted to visit Forge for a while now and didn’t really get the chance to until we went there for a Biology Lab. This place is more of a “secret” than the others on this list because it’s so hidden, even though it technically is a part of campus. They have drop-in volunteer hours on Friday and many other events throughout the quarter. Not only can you learn about sustainability and gardening, you can play with their garden cat Minster, who was quite a star with our class when we visited. Learn more about the Forge here.
De Saisset Museum
This wonderful place is located right next to the Mission, but probably doesn’t get even half as many visitors. Let’s be honest, how many of us have walked past it without really thinking about it or what’s in it at all? *raises hand* But I’m happy I did eventually visit because there are so many interesting art exhibits as well as history ones. Plus it’s free entry! I especially enjoyed the story of an artist moving from China to the US showcased through paintings.
Whether you’re a freshman or senior, there’s always new places to discover on campus. Maybe try visiting some of these the next time you want to discover a new hidden place!
SaveSave