It is rare when a student’s classes complement each other in such a way that a student has no waiting time between classes. These precious moments between classes can be used to catch up on the next reading material or assignments that students are just too lazy to do at home.
But now, with the introduction of new facilities into the once peaceful places on campus, students no longer have the luxury of waiting until the last minute to finish their classwork or even to get ahead in a class while waiting in-between them.
The obvious example is the introduction of a Starbucks coffee shop into the University Library. Anyone who has spent significant time in a place that accommodates both books and coffee knows that the two simply do not work together. Aside from the problem of books being smeared with food stains or coffee spilling on the floor, the crashing of plates and the noisy coffee machines seem to be inevitable interruptions when introducing a coffeehouse into a quiet place. The two just don’t go together.
Then there is the Steve and Nini Horn Center, which in the last semester has seen the introduction of the Academic Advising Center. Moving the center away from its niche on upper campus to its current site on lower campus, where most students walk past it on their way to and from their classes, has made the Academic Advising Center much more accessible. It is also responsible for the increased foot traffic through the Horn Center.
A student was once able to walk through the Horn Center or sit peacefully without interruptions while starting or finishing an essay or reading a book. Now, the noise level has increased exponentially, not only from the introduction of the Academic Advising Center, but possibly because of the allure of the new, fancy sleek couches that may have drawn more people and consequentially made the Horn Center noisier and less conducive to studying.
Probably the worst place to study, and ironically the most tempting and beautiful, is the outdoors, enjoying our campus’ landscape. With our Southern California weather all year round and many trees to provide shade for students who want to enjoy being outdoors, there is one problem that renders the campus grass unusable for those who wish to study in silence – the airplanes overhead.
About every few minutes an airplane interrupts any progress a student may be making while tackling the Russian Revolution or mitochondria. While this can often be barely audible while in class, it is incredibly disruptive when trying to study on campus. While this may not be a new phenomenon (in 2003, the Long Beach airport reached an agreement with the city of Long Beach to limit air traffic and consequently noise, over the city), it is still a major deterrent for students who may wish to study at one of the nicer locations on campus.
Some solutions to this common conundrum would be to visit the relatively cheap ($2 a visit) music lounge in the University Student Union, if you happen to be among the students who are capable of studying effectively while listening to music.
Students may either do that or invest in good earplugs. Unfortunately, these disruptions don’t seem to be leaving our campus any time soon.
