With almost all our classes online, students are in need of proper study spaces now more than ever. Walking into Talley Student Union anytime after 9 a.m. is basically a gamble. Sometimes you find a place to study, and sometimes you don’t. Dozens of students are constantly walking up and down all four floors of the building, looking for a place to sit. It seems ridiculous for such a large university, one with access to so many resources, to have students sprawled across the floor of their student union on an almost daily basis.
Places like Talley are a preferred study spot for many students. If you’re going to spend the entire day studying somewhere, it’d be helpful to actually be able to eat lunch while you’re studying. Study spots like those in D.H. Hill Jr. Library don’t allow students to eat inside, making it less crowded, but not preferred. In addition to this, D.H. Hill Library is a relatively quiet place to study. You can’t talk with your friends or collaborate with other classmates while working on your assignments. It’s exhausting to study in one place for hours on end without being able to snack or talk to others.
While Talley is most definitely the preferred study spot, it comes with its flaws. If you find an empty table or chair that’s next to an outlet at Talley, you’re pretty lucky. Talley is packed almost every day of the week, yet there aren’t enough floor outlets or extended power strips for students to use while studying. Once your laptop dies, you either have to sit on the floor next to an outlet or just go back to your dorm, which is why this is a renovation Talley needs. Places like D.H. Hill Library and James B. Hunt Library have plenty of floor outlets and extended power strips for students to use, but they’re not convenient study spots. Hunt Library is all the way on Centennial Campus, and D.H. Hill isn’t the preferred spot when studying for extended periods.
With so many of our classes online, there’s no doubt that there are tons of entirely vacant classrooms. These classrooms and lecture halls would be great places to turn into study spots and lounges for students. By opening up some of these classrooms and adding extra chairs and tables, not only would students benefit, but so would the University.
Having students sprawled across Talley’s floor and pulling chairs from other tables is a major COVID-19 concern for the University. Continually having Talley on overload contributes to the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus. By converting unused classrooms and lecture halls into study spots, the University will accommodate the needs of its students and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The pandemic has created many unprecedented issues within our university. While the student body doesn’t expect the University to have everything perfect at all times, we do hope to see them accommodating our needs. NC State must be more proactive about our student body’s concerns regardless of how trivial they may seem on the surface.
It’s unfair that students must spend hours a day cooped up in dorms trying to study because there’s no space for them in places like Talley. Factors like this contribute to the overall mental health of our students. Small changes and adjustments can help ease the challenges of such a difficult semester. Utilizing unused resources like classrooms and lecture halls for the benefit of students will make a big difference in the long run. NC State must be more proactive about such issues.
