The kids in the hall

Students at Humber College overflowed into the hallways to study for exams during the last days of the semester. Students resorted to working on the carpeted floors and even taking naps on the cushioned chairs of the Lakeshore Commons building.

To Maryan Naimi, a student in the Bachelor of Public Relations program, taking to the hallways isn’t the worst thing.

“I live with a big family, being at the school gives me easy access to labs and computers,” said Naimi.

Naimi said she uses the fourth floor at Lakeshore Commons because it’s been a quiet space in the past. Now she finds she has to compete with loud students hanging out in the hallways.

More rooms are available for students but they are not in high traffic areas on campus. During the last weeks of the semester, many of the computer labs in the cottages were empty, though there was no signs of how long they would stay unoccupied. On the other side of campus, the library had study rooms that were left in the dark.

For Elizabeth Jones, Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting student, even walking from the Lakeshore Commons to the library is too much time out of her busy schedule. She sat outside of a classroom on the third floor of the L Building studying for her exam later that day.

“The library is too far, my exam is in this building and there is enough space in the hallways for me,” said Jones.

The problem for Jones is the lack of electrical outlets in the building. She says the plugs in the cafeteria are usually being used and there is often a lack of seating. Although she has to resort to studying in the hallway, she finds the third floor hallways to be the quietest space in the building.

Students in the Lakeshore Commons building are used to high traffic during school hours. The lines in the cafeteria are usually long and the wait for the printer has people standing with crossed arms. Humber’s website even classifies the commons area on the building’s first floor as “noisy during high traffic time.” Although there are some classrooms in the surrounding buildings, there is little in the way of study space in the Lakeshore Commons.

The Lakeshore Commons was built in 2011 to address some of these issues.

“Prior to the construction of the building, students often had to struggle for study and classroom space,” said John Davies, president of Humber College, at the opening ceremony of the new building.

It seems this struggle is still ongoing for some.