Dusty piles of building materials line the outskirts of the walkway. Through the entrance doors and past the front desk lies a room filled with brand-new wooden tables, decorated floors and a large sign and menu that all point to one thing: Starbucks is here.
Over the past few months, the Cal State Long Beach University Library has been under construction. The goal is to renovate the drab hallways and unseen problems with the plumbing and heating systems.
While those problems are being fixed, students have been forced to find other areas to study rather than the spacious settings that the library normally has to offer. Starbucks is one of the solutions.
The other solution lies across campus in the Los Alamitos and Parkside commons buildings near the dorms. These are the coffeehouses named The Ground Floor and Central Park, respectively.
This week’s Ted on the Street will attempt to discover the effectiveness of these leisure areas in providing more convenient places for students to study, hang out and meet people.
The Skinny
Over the next three to five weeks, the library will have 150 new computers open to students on the basement and first floors. Phase III of the library renovation project is scheduled to be finished by fall 2007, according to interim Associate Dean of Library and Academic Services Sara Sluss.
“It’s a little inconvenient,” Sluss said, regarding the lack of study space for students. “But most students are good about planning ahead and have been very understanding about it.”
According to Sluss, the availability of library books will not change. Students will still be granted access to items such as journals, which have been boxed up, by either having a library aide retrieve it or to going online to the library Web site.
CSULB President F. King Alexander has said one of the biggest reasons for the addition of the coffeehouses is to give students a chance to socialize and study on campus, as opposed to leaving and preventing the possibility for more campus unity.
“It’s really important to understand the value of these facilities,” Alexander said. “I [often] ask our students what they think about them, and they love having a place to gather. They really love it.”
In response to some student concerns that the library should have been finished before bringing in a Starbucks, Alexander said, “The bottom floor of the computer center is only going to be about a month behind Starbucks. That whole first phase went together, and opening the Starbucks was only a small portion of it. Also, Starbucks helped with the building of it, which opened it faster.”
The introduction of the coffeehouses near the dorms was primarily due to the lack of food, drink or study space for students late at night, according to Alexander.
The Street
While sitting alone, making flashcards for an upcoming class, sophomore communications major Whitney Mitchell explained why having Starbucks around is a good thing.
“It’s more convenient because it’s closer to where my classes are,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t really care about Starbucks either way,” junior film major Argel Dionio explained. “It’s a good environment for students due to the soothing music selections and the use of colors and lighting. I think now that the rec center has passed, it will do more for helping students socialize. Students don’t really come here to meet strangers, they come to drink coffee and study.”
“I think it’s a great idea having the coffeehouses here,” said freshman business management major and dorm resident Fred Ruelas. “This is another mingling spot people can come to socialize. Starbucks is also great because it keeps kids studying.”
Freshman nursing major Katie Cannon also expressed her views on the coffeehouses.
“It’s a nice place to go to and drink some coffee, especially when you get thirsty in the middle of the night,” Cannon said. “Starbucks is a good idea, even though it’s often noisy and loud.”
Ted Concludes
Overpriced coffee in a crowded room with few places to sit isn’t normally the idea of a relaxed student environment, but that isn’t necessarily how any of our newly added drink shops are all the time.
Many students have complained to this reporter about the problems plaguing the school regarding the addition of businesses that are meant to promote campus unity when no one even wants to stay on campus once class is over. Perhaps that is due to the lack of affordable (and healthy) food on campus. It’s possible that students would prefer to study in the comfort of their own homes rather than enter a work-in-progress library where the only place to sit is in the confines of a corporate coffeehouse. But regardless of student preferences, the truth stands: our library needs to be fixed and updated.
The verdict? Starbucks: use it if you want, but remember that there are plenty of quiet places on campus to study. Lack of library resources: go online and search or go to your local community library and use their resources. Yes, I know this defeats the purpose of paying all the fees you do to use our library, but until it’s done, all we can do is endure it. Dorm coffeehouses: check them out if you live there and need a late-night chill spot to study and talk.
We have a lot of problems on this campus regarding building and renovation. We have many students who don’t like it. But until we can make a unanimous decision about what we do and do not want to change on campus, we will have to learn to deal with it.
