Not having a place to sit and work

[gremcint]

So anyone in university and college is familiar with having large blocks of time in between classes (I've actually had 7 hour breaks before) and the worst part is what the hell are you supposed to do with your time, I don't mean do homework/play games I mean where the fuck do I go, and even with a really long break going home is not always an option.

So I like to find a place with a comfortable place to sit, wireless access and an outlet because like most students I have a laptop and it is one of the main ways I can kill time.

It seems to be almost impossible to find a spot to work sometimes. It's not an unreasonable request to have somewhere to work in between classes, especially nearby, I shouldn't have to go to other side of campus just for a place to sit.

There is one place nearby I like to go, it's an all you can eat buffet cafeteria. You have to check your bag at the front but aside from that it's a pretty decent place to go, I just found out today though that they are no longer allowing people in outside of the specified mealtimes. breakfast ends at 10:30 lunch starts at 11:30, my class finishes at 11:00. I used to be able to pay for lunch get settled and wait until they started but not anymore apparently. I didn't give the employees any crap about it because it's not up to them, but now I have to go sit somewhere for half an hour before I can go in.

People have suggested using empty classrooms but on the long breaks not always practical or available. I may sound lazy but ask yourself, your working in your office and every hour someone comes in and kicks you out and you have to go find another office.

Another annoying point going back to the laptop is areas that are not laptop friendly, I'm sorry but most students have a laptop, and most students have cheap laptops meaning low battery life, and I'm tired of being told I can go to blah area where there are tables and chairs but no outlets or anything.

[AdminAssistant]

Do they have any study areas at the library? Our libraries have lots of tables/chairs close to outlets.

[HYHYBT]

Libraries are great. Despite your not liking to move, empty classrooms are too; it may take a while to find a good schedule, but there are probably some somewhere that are empty long enough at a time that you don't have to move *every* hour, and even with a fairly weak battery (mine only goes a bit over an hour these days) that's long enough to get through some time between available outlets.

Some places that have seats but "no outlets" actually do have outlets, just inconvenient ones. If you have to run the cord across a walkway, make sure it's long enough to lie flat and not trip anyone please. And of course much of the lack of outlets is simply because the "need" to have internet available everywhere is far newer than most buildings. It's easy to add a wifi signal, not so easy to run new outlets everywhere someone might want one.

If all else fails and there's still a hole where you either have no signal or are too long without a plugin, you can always read a... I think they're called "books."

[MrsEclipse]

I used to have this problem. The only solution was that I finished at community college and moved to a four-year school with an apartment right next to campus, but that doesn't really apply to other situations. I carpooled because I can't drive, and I usually had at least three hours between classes.

I had a spot in the Game Room. There were no games, and the TV was too loud, but the couch was awesome. But then the noise got to be too much for me.

So I picked a favorite table at the library, and would slowly fan out from that one if it was taken to the next available seat. They remodeled the library and the table went away.

Then I staked out the study carols, but they were almost always full up so it was a crapshoot. It might work for you, though.

On my campus there are lots of places for people with laptops, or at least it seems that way to someone without a laptop (just like someone without a handicap placard probably thinks of those spots as 'always empty') and without knowing your campus I can't make any specific suggestions (not that I'm asking- and if you tell me I won't listen)

On warm days I like to spread out on the patches of grass designed for these things with homework (read: music and a recreational book to everyone who's not my mom or professor), but it's cold out now.

I would personally take the empty classroom with the laptop than the study bench with no outlet, given those two options.

[SongsOfDragons]

My university was lovely; the library was huge and had loads of nooks and crannies where one could sit and read up, or do work, or get together in presentation groups to do group work. They had a massive bank of computers (though the scanners didn't always work). During my time there they built a huge art-deco student centre, which is a lovely place, and includes the Learning Café, another large room with triskelion desks (i.e. there are three pods with a computer and desk space per unit), beanbags around the edge, and a put-what-you-want-on-a-tray style food selling area with sandwiches and drinks and other things. But I guess I was lucky, though I wouldn't have picked any other uni. ^^

[gremcint]

If all else fails and there's still a hole where you either have no signal or are too long without a plugin, you can always read a... I think they're called "books."

Yes I quite familiar with those thank you, considering my several full shelves and all the epubs on my tablet, kobo and laptop as well as the audio books on my xbox I listen to while playing games.

But if I'm at school I usually like to do homework so I can relax at home. Further books are heavy and awkward and take up space and frankly I already have a lot of stuff with me usually so a book is not some magical solution.

In regards to the library it's the other end of campus and I literally have to cross a river to get there.

And also I am a computer science student so my homework usually requires a computer and internet access.


Frankly I know I'm being a little fussy but I'm not asking for all that much.

[HYHYBT]

I remember being a computer science student. We mostly had to do our work in a lab on green-screen text terminals.

I was trying to be humorous with the book comment, but it didn't come through. Sorry about that.

[gremcint]

I got that in hindsight, you happened to step on a pet peeve was all, not your fault. I also misread a little.


It's kind of like when I was bored as a kid and someone would suggest going outside. Well I live in the middle of nowhere, all there is outside is the exact same field and rocks that have been there the past several years, if I didn't find them interesting then I'm not going to find them interesting now. It's like ok I'm outside, now I'm bored and outside, the situation has not improved.