Observing the Overlooked: Inside the Chem-Phys Building: Part 2

2/23/10 at 10:00 A.M.
I decided to sit in the chemistry building at a different time for my second visit for the second blog assignment. I showed up two and a half hours earlier to see if there was a difference in the activities that went on inside this building. As I sat there on the cold hard ground with my hair sticking to the brick wall, I noticed that at this time of the morning there was barely anyone in the building. The entire floor consisted of me and three other students. One was reading the newspaper, another studying, and the last student was listening to his iPod. There were few very people coming and going out of the building, which made me suspicious. I thought that maybe everyone had just started class, which is why there was barely anyone around. But then I would have expected to see some stragglers coming in to class late. I only noticed about five of those students. During this visit, I noticed that the room was dead quiet, except for the constant buzzing noise of a fan above me in the ceiling. The lighting seemed very dim, which combined with the monotonous noise, made me very sleepy. It really is amazing to see how much two and a half hours can make a difference in an area.

2/25/10 10:35 A.M.


Today, while sitting in the dimly lit chemistry building, I noticed that even a half hour can make a difference in the activity that went on in the building. Compared to Tuesday, there were many more students waiting for class. Almost every bench was filled and multiple students were sitting on the cold hard floor like me, or standing and leaning up against the dull walls. The dim lighting didn’t help everyone’s sulky moods. Since the building isn’t very well-lit in the waiting area, the builders probably thought that they could rely on using big windows to create more light, ultimately saving on energy costs. But even huge windows couldn’t make the room brighter. It seemed as though the lighting and dreariness of outside really affected everyone’s moods. It was a little bit louder in the more crowded area, but there was still a good amount of silence. It seemed as though no one was keeping their thoughts to themselves: either they didn’t want to go to class, or that they just wanted it to be the weekend. Either that or everyone wanted to crawl back to bed in the midst of the harsh freezing winds. I know that’s what I wanted to do. Even though everyone was in different spots and positions, they all seemed to be on their laptops or their cell phones. It seemed like no one wanted to talk to each other, except for these two guys sitting on the floor across from me. One of their computer’s made a noise that sounded like “See if you’re smarter than your friends!” I don’t really understand how a computer can compare people’s intelligence or why people would need the assistance of a computer to do that, but the guys started laughing as soon as the loud announcement was finished. I guess they were embarrassed that everyone else in the room heard that advertisement as well. Multiple people had their notes out, probably trying to stay on top of their studies since midterm is right around the corner. It seemed like today everyone just wanted to be in their own little personal worlds.
3/4/10 3:15 P.M.
Today, I walked into the Chem/Phys building to see a very unusual occurrence. I expected to see the norm, students sitting at least a bit quietly studying, listening to music, or playing with their phones. But, today I saw a kid laying on a bench that was in the middle of the waiting area, dressed in a onsie pajamas. I haven’t seen these pajamas in the longest time, so this made me very happy and excited to see that they still existed. But as I sat there basically staring at this kid, I wasn’t the only one, I wondered why in the world he would wear pajamas, let alone onsie pajamas, on campus and to class. I know most students dress comfortably, but I feel like this takes comfort to a whole new level. A class had just gotten out, and everyone else seemed to notice the napping student. They were all cracking up laughing at the kid and staring at him. Once guy even said in a sarcastic voice, “I wish I could be in high school again.” I guess he didn’t approve of the student dressing up, or down in this case. There was also another guy who stopped and stared for a couple of minutes at the snoozing guy. He looked like he was just standing there, pondering why the kid was sleeping in the middle of the building. I was doing the same thing, but not being so obvious. I think the student either wanted a lot of attention, was caring out a dare that someone had given him, or just really loved onsie pajamas and didn’t care enough to wear them out to class. Either way, I was really happy to see this. It made me laugh and for once I enjoyed being in the Chem/Phys building.
I learned that the time of day really does make a difference in the activities that go on in the Chem/Phys building. There could either be practically no one, many students, or even some kid taking a nap in some outlandish outfit. It really doesn’t make me think too much about it. The building is still some place on campus that is there for learning purposes, occasionally providing entertainment for students waiting to learn.