Marissa Verdon, Staff Writer
With midterm season quickly approaching, many students here at Utica College are bunkering down for study sessions, projects and essays.
With the library becoming a bit more packed than usual, some students are wishing their dorm areas had more studying space.
“We are excited to be adding in some study areas in South Hall,” Derek Pooley, assistant director for student living. “South Hall Lounge is being renovated this summer, and there will be built in study areas for students. They will have an electric plug for laptops, phone/tablet plugs and will be wireless ready.”
Students like Freshman Hayleigh Snyder and Senior Spencer Mayo see the addition as a welcome change.
“I would love having study rooms in the dorms,” Snyder said. “That would be a lot more convenient than walking all the way across campus to risk not being able to get an open room.”
Mayo believes the addition would make the winter months more bearable.
“I think it would actually be very useful,” Mayo said. “During winter time for example, I personally hate trudging through the snow to get to the library’s study rooms. I tend to just stay in the dorms instead. If there was a study room, then I wouldn’t need to sacrifice comfort for studying.”
Students like junior James Den Bleyker see this as a positive for students who live on campus.
“I feel as if some students will use it and some won’t,” Den Bleyker said. “They could possibly make some sort of a difference.”
Commuter student Jordyn Keech-Beach sees the rooms as an important way for UC to emphasize academics year-round.
“Every student is at UC to receive an education,” Keech-Beach said. “By placing study rooms in the residence halls, the college would be putting an emphasis on the academic aspect of the college experience.“
Keech-Beach noted the addition to study rooms in residential halls could be viewed negatively in the eyes of commuter students.
“It is important to recognize that those individuals are just as important as resident students,” Keech-Beach said. ”Ultimately, if the school was to add study rooms in the residential halls and not in common areas, this would lead to further inequity between residential and commuter students.”
Fellow commuter student David Cooney thinks the idea of study rooms for commuters as a “counterpart” for resident hall study rooms would not be utilized.
“I do not think the school should do a campus counterpart, as it would be probably seldomly used,” Cooney said. “Usually as a commuter I get a room and some friends who live on campus to study with. More than likely I would still use the library.”
While students are torn on how they feel about the rooms, they agree that soundproofing is a high priority for residential study halls.
“In the rooms there should be monitors and a keyboard similar to the library, a whiteboard with marker and better walls so I don’t have to listen to the people beside me.” Snyder said.
Pool said that the Office of Student Living is looking for feedback from the campus community.
For more information on the Resident Halls, visit the Office of Student Living online at http://www.utica.edu/student/reslife/