On approximately exactly one month ago today I was serenely cogitating about perchance initiating my solitary studies when I was abruptly and abrasively made to recognize the presence of others.
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We’ve all been there, idly drawing in the margins of our notebooks during class. An angsty exclamation here. A 3D cube there. Your name in script everywhere. The scholarly minds of Kenyon students have taken it all one step further. Our pens and brains cannot and will not be tamed. No pretentious comment or Shakespeare quote is safe within the confines of the classroom. Fueled by the fluorescent lighting and a vaguely purple color scheme, students have taken to Olin Library desks to express their inner musings and demons. Continue reading
It’s only one week until finals, which means Club Olin is the most happening place in Gambier. As we all start preparing for the inevitable emotional breakdown awaiting us all, it would be preferable to keep the library a quiet place so you can hear yourself think about how much easier it would be just to drop out. Unfortunately, some people view the library as more of a social space and use it to loudly interrupt your concentration as often as possible. Below are a few ways to tell those people they need to shut up so you can get back to your 10,000 word essay on how Nietzsche can be used to explain why you never saw all of Wilson’s face on Home Improvement. Continue reading
It’s 10:32 p.m. and while you’ve been working for six hours already, you know that you’re going to be sitting in the same graffiti-ridden carrel until the staff has to physically force you out. It’s bad enough that you’re in this situation in the first place, but to add insult to punishment, there is someone on the phone in the carrel next to yours. Do you say something? Do you passive-aggressively move while shooting them a dirty look? Fear not, Kenyonites, for here is a guide to noise, your tolerance for it and what to do when you encounter it delivered to you in a series of handy graphs:
Your tolerance increases during the final stretch, since any form of human activity becomes important and precious as you feel your own humanity slowly slipping away.
Finals are scary, there is really no way around it. Everyone is stressed. Our brains are tired. Our senses are heightened. We are hungrier. Smellier–I mean who really has time to shower? We are also more audibly sensitive. There is nothing worse than sitting in the library, staring at a blank Word document with incredible intensity, daring your brain to come up with a thesis, when all of the sudden a burst of voices explodes on your periphery and all of your concentration is lost. Continue reading
The Kenyon Thrill 