So, it’s almost midterms week (or smack in the middle of midterms for some of us), and we’re all scrambling for great spaces to cram material in or to meet in with study groups. Here are a few of my favorite places to study on campus – feel free to add your own!
1) Whitman Team Rooms
These rooms, unfortunately only available for Whitman students, are probably the best spaces to study on campus. They’re soundproof, have a chalkboard and a large monitor – perfect for group meetings – and a large table and tons of outlets for multiple laptops. For all you unfortunate non-Whitman majors, try picking up a Whitman minor, so you’ll be able to use these amazing rooms.
2) Whitman Atrium
The Whitman Atrium, properly known as the “Ilene and David Flaum Grand Hall”, is also a great place to study – particularly late at night. There are outlets all over the atrium, also great if your group has multiple laptops. During the day, while there are classes going on, the atrium can get quite loud. However, after around 5PM, it quiets down so that people can have meetings or just hang out in the comfortable sofas. If you ever visit, you can normally find people napping or flat-out sleeping on the couches – especially during finals and midterms week. The best part about this place is that all the furniture can be rearranged to however you need it, and the cleaning staff rearranged the furniture back to its proper place by the next morning.
3) Newhouse Team Room
Not many people know about the two team rooms in Newhouse 3, across from the CDC. It’s used as a first-come, first-served basis, and is also really quiet and soundproof. This also has restrictions – it’s only for Newhouse students, but Newhouse minors could use it for any team meetings they have as well.
4) Newhouse’s Eric Mower Passage
This is one of my personal favorite study places – the Mower passage is that hallway that connects Newhouse 1 and 2, and has funky orange chairs. It also overlooks the entrance to food.com, so it’s a great place to think of stories through people watching. It’s normally quiet, because most people don’t know where it is, and it also has outlets next to each chair. It’s also almost always heated, unless Newhouse is about to close, so it’s a great place to study in the winter.
5) Safire Room in the Library
This is another hidden treasure. The Safire room, on the top floor of Bird library, is possibly the quietest room of the building. It’s also gorgeous, so you get a view while you’re studying. It has benches and a huge table that people can put their books and study on, and it’s a nice quiet place in the center of campus. It’s great if you have a meeting on the lower floors of Bird, but need to complete work before – but make sure you go and check out the hours – it’s not open 24/7.
Photo courtesy of the Daily Orange Staff Photographer Andrew Renneisen.