With finals right around the corner, students are trying to make the most of the time they have left by studying into the night. This requires sacrificing coveted hours of rest and often consuming untold ounces of caffeine. The Clough Commons has become a second home to many when beds are too tempting and sleep is no longer an option. The following is the progression of an all-nighter at the CULC, and a testament to sheer human willpower.
11:00 pm
With finals right around the corner, students are trying to make the most of the time they have left by studying into the night. This requires sacrificing coveted hours of rest and often consuming untold ounces of caffeine. The Clough Commons has become a second home to many when beds are too tempting and sleep is no longer an option. The following is the progression of an all-nighter at the CULC, and a testament to sheer human willpower.
12:30 am
The line at Starbucks is as long as ever and students are scattered far and wide working. Their chatter fills the air and the breakout rooms are full of activity.
When asked why it can be more appealing to study in Clough Commons than in the comfort and seclusion of their dorms and apartments, the presence of others seemed the reason.
“I’m working on my chemistry lab and I’ve been considerably productive, especially compared to how productive I am when I’m in my dorm room. I definitely like studying in the CULC because it gets me out of my normal environment, so I don’t get distracted,” said Emily Talley, first-year PSYCH major. “I’ll probably be here another 30 minutes tops…from a scale of one to dead I’m probably like a six.”
2:00 am
At this point in the night chatter has died down somewhat and the mood seems more studious than before.
“We got here around 1:00am and we’ll be here for a while, 4:00am at the latest. As far as my stress level goes I’d say out of ten, I’m like an eight or a nine. If I started thinking about [my work] more, it would probably before more like a fifteen. Around 4:00am I will not be a happy camper, but right now the hustle and bustle of being around a lot of people helps,” said Ariel Wheelock, a third-year AE major.
3:30 am
There are considerably fewer students now, and the atmosphere is much less frantic. Some areas that were full of students just a few hours ago are now completely deserted. Starbucks is closed now, but that does not deter some from pushing on with their studies.
“I’ve been working since about 10 p.m. but taking breaks in between. I’m thinking about getting back to the dorm around 5 a.m., getting a shower, taking a nap and then going to class,” said Katherine Zhang, a first-year AE major.
At 4 a.m., Ariel Wheelock was packing to leave for the night, hopeful for a few hours of sleep.
“It was a productive night. I’m just happy that I get to go home, and that I got finished what I wanted to get done,” Wheelock said.
5:00 am
With dawn merely two hours away, the CULC is nearly a ghost town. Several students have collapsed on couches in a last-ditch effort to get some rest.
Only the most dedicated of night owls remain, still concentrating on their work and unwilling to submit to the call of sleep. When finals week is swiftly approaching, there is no rest for the weary.
“I’m a night person…I’ll probably crash around noon tomorrow, but I’ve studying here for four hours and I’ve been focused most of the time,” said Sherali Yadav, a first-year BCHM major.