5 Study Spots on Campus Outside the 24 Hour Study Room

Photo from flickr.com, uploaded by scubasteveo

Sitting in the Davis 24 hour study room and brooding about how staunchly academic my Saturday night feels apparently doesn’t result in an essay being typed by itself, so I decided to procrastinate in a slightly more productive way and finish my blog for the week. I also realize that the finals study rush is just over a week away, so I decided to compile a list of some of the lesser used study areas on campus.

1. The Art Lounge on the second floor of the MU. One of the most comfortable lounges on the Davis campus, the Art Lounge is also one of the most popular for taking naps. I can personally vouch for the comfiness of their 90′s upholstery, and it’s almost always quiet enough to sleep for a while. There are coffee tables and plenty of outlets, but because it’s so popular, it’s usually fairly difficult to find a place to sit and set up all your studying necessities.
2. The basement of the Physical Sciences and Engineering Library. Being a non-science major, I’ve never felt the need to venture into the depths of the gray, cubical, bland PSE library, but I’ve been told it’s an excellent place to study if you prefer to avoid natural sunlight or any glimpses of blooming trees and Davis in the spring. On the plus side, it has plenty of chalkboards for students’ disposal, so this is an ideal studying place for those who like plenty of space to practice chem problems or organize group projects.
3. The hallways of the ARC. This is a bit of a high traffic area, but the chairs are extremely comfortable, and about half have a fold-down desk attached. Working here requires a fairly high tolerance for ambient noise and the ARC’s Top 40 music/Ke$ha, but it’s also in close proximity to the ARC Starbucks, and the bathrooms around the ARC are pretty nice and well-maintained. Seriously.
4. The Student Community Center. As the SCC only opened earlier this quarter, it’s difficult to tell what sort of traffic the study areas will get during finals, but if the rest of the quarter is any indication, it will be crowded. Positives: group study rooms (book way ahead of time because they usually have a wait list), and the fact that the cleaning crew usually won’t kick you out until 2 am. Or so my roommate tells me.
5. The Occupy encampment on the Quad. Just kidding.