My name is Kathryn Darlak, a sophomore who has lived at MoJo and been in MRADS for both years. Let me be honest with you: in my opinion, college consists of 15% fun, 35% classes, and 50% studying and doing homework.  While libraries and quiet cafes are the ideal places to study, there are times when I do not want to go out.  Even when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and the squirrels are following me for food, I will refuse to be like a vampire and just sit in a corner to study from my textbooks.  Thankfully, Mosher Jordan Hall offers about 18 study places where you can study and work until your heart's content.

Sure, studying in your room is nice. But the bed right there is a great tempter, beckoning you to just lie down and sleep through most of the day. Or your phone traps your sense of time until its battery runs out or something else jolts you from your trance.  In any case, Mosher Jordan provides studying spots for whatever you need. On the third to fifth floor, at both ends of the building, there are little studying rooms. These are perfect when you don’t want to be far from your room but need a new place. It is also a place for floor meetings with your friends.  Sometimes, I am kicked out of my room because my roommate needs the room for a meeting. I would just come to these little rooms and study until she was finished.

Mosher Lounge

Lounges and Living Rooms

But what if you were hosting a study group or project meeting for a class? The lounges on the second floor and the living rooms on the first floor are the best places. Large and spacious with various-sized tables for any sized group, each room is equipped with various forms of entertainment, ranging from a piano to a paddle ball court to a TV in case you and others need a break. And if you need an absolute quiet place to study, don’t worry the Mosher Lounge (or the Morgue) has you covered. The Morgue is the best place, in my opinion, to study for exams because its quiet intensity replicates an exam room. It got its name because it's sometimes a bit cold and students sit on couches and long tables to work silently (like dead bodies).  So make sure you don't make any loud sounds, or everyone will look at you (like the Walking Dead when you step on a branch).  I can speak from experience about that.

Nikki-Giovanni Lounge

Multicultural Lounges

For a more secluded study space but also for fun right after, the two cultural lounges are the places for you. Each is dedicated to a historical person, Nikki Giovanni for Jordan and Cesar Chavez for Mosher. The rooms are illustrated with pictures of them, while quotes and facts about them are sprinkled around the room.  What makes them great is that half of the room has tables and chairs for studying while the other is a large screen TV with a couch. I remember my friends and I finishing up our homework as fast as possible so we could connect a laptop to the TV to watch a movie. It is also a great place to practice presentations and hold events.

Cafe and Blue Market

Cafe

If you are a snacker while studying, there is a cafe called the Blue Market on the first floor.  This market is a great place to buy snacks and drinks to replenish your energy. They have seats right by large windows so you have a great view and can do homework, listening to the white noise of the dining hall below as you sip on your hot mocha latte. It is open to everyone and the cafe is open until the late hours on weekdays, perfect if you want to pull some all-nighters. God knows how many hot caramel chocolate drinks and energy bars I have gorged on to finish the homework I had put off. Or, if you have the ingredients, you can whip something for yourself and others in the community kitchens and study while eating at the kitchen table. I found such comfort in sipping ramen or hot soup while struggling with math homework or memorizing biology terms, especially on cold, rainy nights.

Computer Center

Finally, my favorite study place, the Computer Lab Center or CLC is a room in the middle of Mosher Jordan. Equipped with computers in individual cubicles, you can do homework on the monitors while watching your favorite Netflix series or lectures on your computer. There are circular tables for you to watch with others and a couch to lay your head on after staring for hours at your screens. The reason why I love this place is because it's right next to the dining hall, cafe, and vending machines. This is where I pull my all-nighters and snack on my chips and soda from the cafe or dinner from the dining hall.

With an array of diverse study spaces, Mosher-Jordan Hall is not just a residence hall. It is a sanctuary for academic success and communal growth catered to every need. So, while you explore these spaces, remember, my corner’s already taken!