Since it is now the summer semester, students are sparse around campus. This would naturally lead one to believe that usually popular areas such as the CRC and the library would now be a little more laid-back and a little less busy. Somehow this isn’t quite the case.
Since I am a commuter for the summer, going to the CRC is one of the few things I enjoy doing to pass the time during the day. There isn’t much for me to do while I’m on campus, so I want to get the most of my time.
I assumed that going to the CRC would be a much more enjoyable experience than during the rest of the year—not a lot of other people working out, plenty of open equipment, and no distractions.
But alas, there is plenty going on at the CRC even though it seems as though there shouldn’t be.
When I work out, I don’t like having to worry about which people are watching me, which are judging me, which think I’m judging them. Working out is a very personal thing.
This is why I now only go in the morning, between about ten-thirty and noon. Everyone is still asleep or hung over from the night before and there are few distractions.
It may be hard to believe, but it’s actually not busy in the morning.
It may have been a bad decision on my part to divulge this information about the perfect time to go to the CRC, but I’m sure there are many others as frustrated as I who will benefit.
I’ve tried the whole going-in-the-afternoon thing, but by that time it’s so packed that it seems every student taking summer classes decided to work out at the exact same time.
Also, all of the local day camps bring the kids to campus on field trips, so it is usually inevitable that a herd of screaming seven-year-olds will appear in the middle of your workout.
I have nothing against field trips or the fact that other people take pride in trying to stay healthy.
I just don’t like having to compete with hundreds of my closest friends for cardio equipment and weight machines as children run around and scream in the lobby above me.
So needless to say, after finding out how dead the CRC can be in the morning, I haven’t wanted to go in the afternoon since.
After realizing that the CRC isn’t always busy, with that same mindset I decided to do some homework in the library.
Being a Tech student, the library is like a second home to me (as it is for many others). But it’s usually a second home that gives you a panic attack the moment you walk in. Even during the summer, it’s still impossible to find a computer.
The first time I needed to go to the library this summer, I was actually almost looking forward to it. I figured that since I don’t see many people walking around on campus, there couldn’t possibly be very many in the library.
Much to my dismay, it still took me a few minutes to find an available computer in West Commons.
It astounds me that the computer issue doesn’t improve during the summer. It feels like the entire student body goes to the CRC when I decide to go, then migrates over to the library to take all of the computers before I get there.
Now, I can understand that the library at Tech would be packed because, well, it’s Tech. Even still, no offense Techies, some of us need to get out and socialize more. This might help solve the computer problem.
(Oh, and for those of you who sit at the computer in West Commons looking at Facebook while completely aware that there is a line of people waiting for computers, please either get a life or some common sense.)
Being on campus during the summer gives the impression that all students at Tech are either health nuts, or total nerds that never do anything but study.
But you would never get that impression just from walking around campus during the summer. It seems that everyone is away on vacation when, in fact, everyone is either in the CRC or the library.
So as I end my rant, it has been concluded that the best time to go to the CRC is in the morning, and the worst time to go to the library is all the time.