I spend way too much time in the CM study room so I thought I would pick the East upstairs study room to really see if it’s empowering the students as it should or vice versa. The CM study room is predominately used by students living in CM with a couple of RA’s and group activities on rare occasions. It definitely feels like a study room to me; however, its laid out in a way that feels almost homey with the equally and comfortably spaced out couches and tables with the back and forth sloped ceiling. I generally study with a group of 3-6 people and the study room is set up perfectly for groups due to the large tables that are placed in opposite corners. This could hamper the individual studiers though because those groups get loud and could definitely distract from the students working on the couches or the smaller table. The study room is also geared more towards students who can work while also participating in various conversations and hearing those conversations from other people or groups in the room. The room could be spaced in a way that brings the two large tables together which would leave the rest of the room for those who want to study independently. This would greatly help the disempowered, independent studiers because they would be able to focus better and it wouldn’t have a huge impact on the group studiers because they are used to talking and working simultaneously. The room, as it is now, definitely empowers the group students and disempowers the independent workers.
John Olson
John Olson