Stepping onto the Northeastern campus with fresh eyes this semester, my first thoughts seemed to always travel back to studying and how I would study. Naturally, I had no idea what my study space was going to look like. So, like most college freshman, I went through the process of figuring out my study routine. Was I going to be a dorm person? Possibly a library goer? Or maybe even a green space studier. Once I became adjusted to the first few days of classes, I followed the herd of students filing into Snell library without really considering any other options, just because they were disappointing. Studying in the dorm became stressful as I was mixing my studying and living space and I found myself falling asleep while doing work. Studying outside was tedious as the weather was always unpredictable and honestly, I’m just easily distracted. So I found out that my favorite study space was the library, just like most Northeastern students. I completed my work in the dull, prison-like space daily. I was greeted by the same array of brown and gray with awkward splashes of red and green on the walls.
However, there are often times where I am turned away from entering the library because of the daunting swarm of students heading in and out of the doors. In those cases, I opt to travel across the bridge to another side of campus and to the beautifully captivating building that has the perfect atmosphere for studying: the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, or, as everyone refers to it, ISEC.
The grandeur of ISEC is incomparable to Snell. The building is beautiful. The only fault? There are a limited number of studying spaces. It can easily take close to an hour to find a place to sit with a friend, constantly hearing the ding of the elevator floors and the scuffle of impatient shoes. Its architecture is not made for studying.
So, if hundreds of students daily venture in and out of our one library, wouldn’t time and money be more useful if put towards building another, nicer library and not ISEC 2.0? ISEC is one of the prettiest and most modern buildings on campus. The atmosphere is certainly more exciting than Snell’s but it does not have the same functionality as a library. According to the ISEC website, the space is dedicated to be used as a “hub for collaborative research. Inside [the] 220,000-square-foot innovation ecosystem, great minds come together — finding new ways to improve lives, to keep people and systems secure, and to preserve our fragile planet.” The ISEC building is serving its purpose as a research facility, but there seems to be a higher need for a new library.
First-year marketing major Sofia Heimowitz said of Snell library, “It’s crowded! I’ve been there maybe twice and there are like eight million people there!” It is hard to settle down and focus with a constant flow of people in and out of the building. With a second library, the traffic in the building could decrease and turn into a more functional space. Heimowitz isn’t the only one who thinks this.
Heimowitz also explained that building another ISEC building would be counterproductive. “What is the point? What is it going to help?”
Data analytics and engineering graduate student Yixuan Fengwhich shared a similar sentiment. Feng explained, “A new library would be better since there would be more room to study with friends. Snell is already crowded and there is a greater need for study rooms. There are not enough tables and chairs in Snell anyways.”
Going with a group of two or three friends is always an impossibility and students are typically left combing through the aisles on each floor of the library to find some room to settle down. Feng continued, “I am in the pathway program so I, along with many fellow students, pay a lot for tuition and I still can not find a place to study in our one library. Where does our money go? It should go to a place where students can use.” I understand Feng’s sentiment. Personally, I feel frustration anytime I go the top floor of Snell, only to see a lot of open floor space but not a single open table. It would feel more productive and satisfying if money was going towards constructing another study space for students to utilize.
The library is surely more practical of a study space than ISEC is. It was created to have more IT help, materials, printers, and resources. It is a building dedicated to studying after all. However, there are many ways that Snell can improve as a study space or rather, there are many reasons we need a new and improved one. Having another space dedicated to studying that is possibly combined with the refreshing and modern atmosphere of ISEC’s could do wonders for our campus and student’s morale.
Second-year behavioral neuroscience major Victor Foster expressed, “The university is just trying to get a lot of money through engineering and research. A more functional study space like the first floor of ISEC replicated multiple times with a cafe would be the ideal building to work in.” This makes sense as most students are seeking more study spaces for themselves and for when they work in groups.
Some students, like first-year graduate management information systems major Rohan Yewale, found positives in the construction of ISEC 2.0. He concluded, “The university is getting more grants for their research since they need more space and area to work. It will help elevate the level of research they conduct.”Although he expressed the positives of ISEC 2.0, he was still quick to point out what Snell lacks when he explained, “Another library would not be the best use of money but maybe another floor would be helpful … the second floor is almost always crowded.”
Snell is a convenient and easy place to study when not packed full of students, but it can be difficult to get over its innately dull nature. Libraries are always put to use and can even include space dedicated towards research. Having the freedom to alternate the space you work comfortably would further invigorate the process of studying. It can get tiring and distracting to study in similar spaces with high traffic. Northeastern University is a place that should be dedicated to the students and to improving our on-campus resources. ISEC 2.0 will surely help advance the research stature our school has achieved, but a new library can be used more practically to the student body’s benefit. As other students have expressed, there seems to be a greater calling for another library (or at least an improvement of our current one) rather than an ISEC 2.0.