It boasts being voted the “Best Study Spot.” Who voted it the best study spot? The best study spot out of where? On Cal Poly campus? All of San Luis Obispo? The whole world? Where? No matter how you look at it, the Robert E. Kennedy Library is a good place to study. However, it’s important to know when and where to go.
The second floor of the library, one that is usually very populated, sometimes doubles as a social scene. Second floor users are bound to see someone s/he knows and it’s pretty much always crowded. Being a people watcher, I only study on this floor with extreme caution. It holds lots of distractions and is much louder than higher floors.
As you proceed up in the library it gets quieter and more intense. I rarely venture to the fifth floor of the library (there seem to be less air up there). I always feel guilty for making any noise since it is the quietest of the floors, if your cell phone rings up there you’ll get dirty looks.
All this being said, it’s Finals Week at Cal Poly and the crowds are at their highest. During heavy midterm weeks, students might have to venture the third, or fourth floor but will most likely be able to find an open table somewhere. Last year during finals week it was a challenge to find an open table to that was close enough to a outlet to charge my computer, but this year after deciding there were no open spaces on the second floor I started up the daunting stairs. After circling the third floor and fourth floors a few times I finally went to the fifth. Not only were there no open tables or cubicles on the fifth floor, there were even people sitting on the floor in between rows of books studying.
All of the sudden people realize “Oh it is finals, I guess I should study in the library now.” This phenomenon known as finals week only comes around a few times a year but when it does students decide to flock to the library. People come with grocery bags full of food, sweatpants, fuzzy boots, lots of caffeine and hunker down in this so-called “Best Study Spot.”
Not only are there a lot of people but most of the people have come with the intent of staying for extended periods of time. So, if you don’t come early and find a spot you are out of luck. The saying the early bird gets the worm is holds true in college.
Now I am not saying that every Cal Poly student doesn’t have an equal right to study in the library whenever they want but I find it interesting that so many students decide that the library is the place to study for finals. Where did all of these people study the other 10 weeks of the quarter?
Maybe it is the cold, grey weather drawing them into the “Best Study Spot,” or the thought that they might do better on their finals if they study for hours in the library, or the fact the everyone is there so it is a social activity. Whatever the reason I hope that next time it doesn’t force me to study at home, the most distracting place of all.