I am sitting at a brand new carrel on the third floor of Berry Library in a comfortable chair with ample desk space and dividers between myself and the desks next to and across from me to keep me focused on my own work. The ideal study location? I beg to differ.
Education experts, including those in the Academic Skills Center, recommend always studying in the same location, because you become used to your surroundings and don't waste valuable time staring at the guys playing wiffle ball on the lawn of SAE, because this is the first time you've sat at a desk in the balcony of the Reference Room. I have no doubt that that is part of the reason I all of a sudden find myself at the bottom of a page in my Govy book only to realize that I have no idea what the last few paragraphs were about. But, Academic Skills people, you can't tell me that if I sit here enough I'll eventually call it my new "home" study space. I want the 1902 Room back.
Now I realize that over 1/4 of this campus has never been in this room of first floor Baker. But to me, many of my friends, teammates, and cute boys I have eyed over the course of last year, The '02 Room is not just a place to study. It contains the quintessential representation of Dartmouth students -- smart, social people.
Some may argue that they don't like the '02 Room for the same reason that I have an aversion to the Reserves -- too loud and distracting. I have two rebuttals to this. First, I went there ALL THE TIME to study last year, which, according to the experts, means that I am used to the environment. Secondly, and more importantly, the social aspect of the '02 Room provides some of its greatest strengths as a study location. It features long tables on which you can spread out your stuff -- if you're having trouble with a class, just walk down the aisle and look to see who has the same heaping pile of Ed 20 books as you. If a cute guy or girl walks in, you are most likely sitting across or next to a friend, so you can simply look up, smirk, and be on your merry way with your studying. If that crush object sits down, even from across the room you can still have a perfect view.
Are you '04's now thinking, "Wow, I would never get anything done in this place!"? Well, you would, because that is one of the wonderful attributes of Dartmouth students -- a lot of work gets done between the whispers, glances, and opening of the door close to Sanborn at which time everyone in the room glances up to see if it's a hottie, a classmate with notes, a friend with snacks from Topside or just a fellow '02 fan. If you have particular problems concentrating, desks with blinders are easily accessible at the end of each table. Tired? Go take a 15 minute nap on one of the couches. Need to write a paper? No Ethernet connection, so you won't be distracted by blitz. (But speaking of blitz, public terminals and bathrooms are no more than 50 paces away.) Noisy group project? You can sit at the card catalogue tables right outside and still not be too far away from the action. An author's word choice getting you down? There's a large dictionary near the door.
In short, The 1902 Room represents the very best of Dartmouth. Sure, it turns into a veritable frat basement minus the paddles during finals because there are so many people there, but this fills me with such a sense of pride -- it's the Dartmouth community bonding! So should we protest? Wear faded green and red ribbons for the color of the curtains and rug, respectively? Throw all the desks and filing cabinets that are in there now onto the Green? Sometimes I'd like to. But for now, short of the Class of 2002 pooling together their collective life savings and the rest of their tuition payments to request the construction of the "2002 Room," I don't know that we can do much more than find a place in Berry to push a bunch of tables together and tape a sign up on the wall that says, "Temporary '02 Room". I just hope that my fellow '02 regulars are having a better time concentrating in their new study space than I am. I obviously seem to be the worst off since I actually had to stop reading Govy and write this op-ed. Good luck, and remember to keep the spirit of The '02 Room in your heart no matter what desk you may sit at.
