Studying Hot Spots

Where are the best places to study on campus?

This is a message both for students and members of the community alike about where to study and or hang out on campus.  Students can avoid the boisterous lunges of babies, while community members can escape the sea of 20 something’s filling up every table with papers, computers and coffee.  After two and a half years of going to school on this campus, I label myself a connoisseur of ‘fine studying locations.’

Brainstorming ideas for this weeks writing, the novel idea of writing about an environment where I spend most of my out of class hours would be a great topic for discussion.  Every student on this campus has their special spot where they go to get the juices flowing.  Whether it’s a little nook in the Ugli or smoking a hookah while studying (still not sure how that works) at Rendez-vous, every square foot of this campus is crawling with one student or another just trying to get work done.

Let’s split up the areas on campus conducive for studying into four regions: South U., State St., Main St., and Kerrytown.

The South University area comprises of Starbucks, Rendez-vous, Espresso Royal, Amer’s, the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, the Hatcher Graduate Library, Clements Library, and the Fine Arts library (which is a lovely kept secret).  Here you have two distinct categories, library vs. coffee shop.  The Ugli is indeed ugly, with limited seating, barren walls, and few windows.  Not a conducive learning environment.  The Graduate Library is intense, filled with ornate walls and ceilings, not to mention the numerous grad students working on dissertations and other lofty assignments that turn our 5 page papers to shame.  Personally, I have never been in the Clements library, but I hear it is petite and wonderful.  You should check it out; it probably will be empty, thus quiet.  That is if you like to study in silence.  Another hidden treasure is the Fine Arts Library.  The one level library seems to date back to the 70’s, providing a retro new world.

There are those who like to study in libraries and equally those who are partial to coffee shops.  Some dabble in both I am sure.  If you don’t mind listening to groovy music and others conversations, then Espresso Royal and Starbucks are perfect for you.  Those of you who smoke out there, and hate leaving your work for five minutes (don’t we all) for a cig break, then Rendez-vous is your safe haven.  Lastly for those others who enjoy excellent food and a quieter environment, you may want to try Amer’s.  In the wintertime they have a fire burning, which is quite lovely and also mesmerizing.

Moving SE onto the next quadrant, we come across the State St. wonders.  This area is comprised of solely coffee shops for studying purposes.  I will begin rattling off the list.  There is another Espresso Royal, and yet another Starbucks and Amer’s, and a Boarders.  With the exclusion of Starbucks, all of these places have great vibes (sorry Starbucks lovers).  The Espresso Royal is much quieter than the one on South U. and you can place yourself far into the back of the building where you won’t be bothered by the traffic of the customers.  Similarly, Amer’s is larger than the one on South U., but with this the noise level is higher.  Boarder’s has an amazing environment.  You are able to sit in whatever genre of literature you please and do your work in peace.

Continuing in the SE direction, we come across Main St.  Again there is a Starbucks and Espresso Royal, but these are often filled with community members, thus having more potential for screaming babies. Beware!  A place that my roommates and I really enjoy is Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea.  You feel a bit more removed from campus, which alleviates some of the stress.  It is a quiet environment with yummy treats.

I have not explored Kerrytown as much as the other regions, but they too have a Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea.  If you are close to one of these locations I strongly encourage you to move your studies into this environment.

Let me know where your study hot spots are!

Sara majors in Art History and enjoys long walks.