By Teresa Fang / February 1, 2024
Undoubtedly, an NCSSM student’s study time is one of the most important times of their day. Whether they study in their dorm room, Bryan lobby, the smelly Hill basement, or the raucous library, they’ll brave whatever conditions to get their work done.
The school is trying to accommodate studying spaces, but it is missing a critical perspective: students want comfortable social spaces. Administration has always been, quite rightly, concerned with the efficiency of things and places on campus. It’s why there are so many renovations: Hill residents are moving into modular trailers, a new building is in the works where the current Pit is located, and the new PEC was designed to encourage students to come study and socialize.
An institution would normally track its utilization rates, which refers to the amount of campus space that students actively use. NCSSM does not record this number, meaning there could be massive amounts of wasted space and the school is unaware of it. If those spaces can be prioritized for specific purposes and appeal to students, the NCSSM campus itself can be revolutionized.
Three Dysfunctional Realms
The goal of targeting net zero carbon proves difficult when an institution needs to create and maintain more space than it theoretically needs operationally.
There is a way to dramatically improve utilization rates at NCSSM: the rise of “third places.” First coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1999, the term refers to places where people spend time between home (“first place”) and work (“second place”). This “third place” refers to places for exchanging ideas, having a good time, and building relationships. Together, these three realms constitute a community’s social vitality.
For residential students like us, the boundaries between these three realms are often blurred. Our first place (the dorm) is within our second place (the school), and we select our third place (literally anywhere at the moment). Students find both friends and passion within the school walls. But when this balance is tipped, the three realms are practically nonexistent and we potentially miss out on important spaces that could have been better effectively used.
There is no shortage of places to study, for example, the library is plenty big enough for that. But it is not big enough to fit both the studyers and the talkers inside, creating rifts between students and librarians. This is apparent with former evening librarian Ms. Amme’s resignation on January 30. While she was doing her duty of keeping the library quiet for studying, some students were compelled to use threats for their own beliefs.
It is a known fact among the students that people go to the library to chat, not to study. This displaces both groups of people: the studyers can’t study well, and the talkers are too busy avoiding the librarian to socialize comfortably.
“I think we have adequate space, but we could definitely use a few more options,” said Chris Hopkins, the assistant director of campus safety. “I have noticed during certain periods the studying locations become quite full. I hope that once the construction ends on the athletic fields and the weather warms, that area can be used for socializing, intramural sports, etc.”
However, this construction is not planned to end until 2027. Coupled with the rise of colder weather, students literally have to brave natural conditions if they want to study outside.
Ultimately, there is no functional third or second space at NCSSM.
Creating Go-to Spaces for Students
One of the problems with erecting third spaces is that they might not be attached to a clear research or teaching function, therefore hard to justify for financial planning. However, from both educational and social standpoints, it is clear that communal social and learning spaces are incredibly important to integrate into a campus like ours – and to get right.
In planning third spaces, even small design changes would encourage student interactions. Students need to physically meet each other in comfortable spaces that have good daylight, ventilation, temperature, acoustics, furnishing, and vibe. A variety of spaces, in particular, “living room” -type proportions, would allow for quick and easy interactions as opposed to just a large ground-floor atrium like Bryan lobby.
By no means is this a call for more heavy construction during the academic year. Some sections of the new PFM are examples of how to go about this: students enjoy the smaller-sized spaces with some amount of privacy but also comfort.
“I have only been here since last April, but I have noticed that with the opening of the cafeteria, students seem to congregate in the open area with couches and tables,” said Hopkins. “I also noticed students enjoy studying in places where it is quiet enough to study, but not secluded away from other students.”
By creating more hospitable conditions for third spaces to develop and thrive, unused space in NCSSM can be transformed into regular go-to spaces for NCSSM students, where their priorities can be best taken care of. Instead of avoiding the library because of the din, students can use the space to study. Instead of being afraid of being overheard in the wide-open Bryan lobby, students can chill comfortably in an accessible cafe-like setting. Instead of ordering new buildings with big bucks, we can get more bang for smaller bucks by renovating existing places.
Recognizing that these third spaces can revolutionize the campus can do much to help students live happier and work harder at NCSSM.
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