To Sit or Not to Sit: The Question of Student Lounges in Dukes

Academic buildings can be a college student’s safe haven. Sure, we have our dorm rooms, apartments, or houses to reside in. But an academic building provides another kind of essence that cannot be found within the walls of one’s living space. 

These aspects involve motivation, fellow peers within the same major, and a change of environment. If anyone is similar to me, I find myself struggling to concentrate on occasion in my apartment, as there are so many temptations around me, calling for my attention rather than my planner full of assignments. The library seems like a viable option, but sometimes I prefer a space that feels more personal to what I am studying in the humanities department. 

Dukes Memorial is home to several majors, now with the most recent addition of History and Political Science, causing heavy traffic in the halls. English and Creative Writing majors tend to stick around on the first floor building in between classes, and long after classes are let out, while other majors reside on the upper floors. The first-floor majors, as I call them, can usually be found along the back hallway, either lounging on couches or chairs, or sitting at the tables. The building provides a cozy feel, one that often removes you from stressors and anxieties that may clutch onto college students. The one thing missing, however, is a proper student lounge. 

The lack of a student lounge wasn’t an issue that immediately became apparent to me until my sophomore year. I realized for the most part that every single other academic building on this campus, aside from Presser Hall, incorporates at least one lounge that specific majors can utilize. The lounges usually consist of different furniture, equipment, and sometimes even refrigerators and microwaves for students to use. The amenities aren’t what bothers me (although they are nice), it’s the fact that they have a room at all that they can call their own. A space where they can sit with students in their major and feel separate from the traffic of non-majors walking in between classes. What feels like a minimal issue to others has become a complete inconvenience and frustration for English and Creative Writing majors like myself. Ultimately, these feelings leave us bitter by the fact that we have limited spaces to work on ONU’s campus.

While our hallway may have a certain amount of…charm.

It constantly exposes English and Creative Writing students to heavy traffic as well as the grueling heat and cold from the outdoors. If we don’t want to study in our building, usually because it’s too distracting or too exposed to the elements, leaving is a major inconvenience. Other students can walk down the hall and hang out in their student lounge (or lounges) between classes. English, Creative Writing, Political Science, and History majors don’t have that option. Instead we have to expose ourselves to unfavorable weather just to find a quiet place to study. 

Not only is the weather an issue sometimes, the heavy traffic through our pseudo lounge often interrupts conversations or the concentration of those attempting to get work done. Many would say in response to leave and find another place to study, but at the same time, students shouldn’t have to leave their academic building because of factors outside of their control. We should be able to reside in a quiet setting without having to leave our academic building. 

Every student should have the opportunity to study in many places on campus. It doesn’t seem equitable that a majority of students can enjoy these amenities while a smaller portion can’t.