SEPT 5, 2024 | OPINION | By Rachel Weissman, Opinion Section Editor
Our beloved Tutt Library is home to all Colorado College students. Whether it’s grabbing a quick coffee before chem lab at Susie B’s, last-minute cramming for a history exam or long-overdue research for your most difficult class yet –– Tutt Library is always there to lend a helping hand.
However, a great controversy has risen and spread across campus; which floor of the library is the best? I’ve seen shouting, finger-pointing, profane language, and obscene gestures come up in discussions of this topic, and despite my biases, here is my definitive evaluation and ranking of Tutt Library.
#5 – Second Floor
I have no personal resentment towards the second floor (besides stressful late-night visits to the QRC), but nothing stands out to me on this floor. The traveling noise from the open third floor mezzanine generates an awkwardly loud volume. When you are on the second floor, there’s an uncertainty about what your speaking volume should be. I have found myself awkwardly whisper-shouting one hour, and quietly chatting the next.
#4 – First Floor
Similarly to the second floor, I don’t have a personal attachment to the first floor, a sentiment I predict most students share. Every time I enter the library on the first floor, I see at least five forgotten water bottles sitting on the circulation desk with a bored-looking, yet excellently dressed employee sitting behind it. Despite my indifference towards the first floor, I have to give major kudos to the IT department. Every two months, when I inevitably forget how to operate the printer, they are so kind as to remind me of the three buttons I need to push. One time I got a wink and an offhand remark about how their staff looked forward to my habitual visits.
#3 – Third Floor
I know this one will be controversial, but it seems appropriate. Third place goes to the third floor. Susie B’s, the tried and true cure for academic fatigue, is a worshiped landmark in our beautiful Tutt Library. However, with coffees incapable of being iced and toasters on the brink of collapse, I cannot say I hold the attachment and admiration that many do for the third floor with Susie B’s bringing down the third floor’s overall ranking. The third floor is the place to go when you claim to be swamped with work, but proceed to chat with miscellaneous friends made from past Blocks about a professor you disliked or an essay you barely submitted on time. In summation, the third floor is home to bored and overly caffeinated students itching for social hour, but it’s a Monday night and they have to head to the library to feign productivity.
#2 – The Basement
Once again, this might be a controversial pick. With nearly no windows, unforgiving silence and a color scheme akin to an emergency room, the basement is not exactly what comes to mind when thinking of an ideal study space. But in a way, that’s the point. When you are down there, you have no idea what time of day it is or what the weather is like outside. There are no windows to stare out of indefinitely nor any contact without the outside world, eliminating distractions. Not to mention you are surrounded by thousands of books pressuring you to finish your work. When an entire shelf of thousand-page books on the Tudor Dynasty is staring at you, the motivation comes flowing — not necessarily to get the work done, but to get out of there.
#1 – Fourth Floor
My precious fourth floor, where do I begin? With sprawling views of Tava Quad and Pikes Peak, glowing natural sunlight Loomis residents would kill for, and deathly glares shot at you with as little as a cough or text notification, what could be better? This ranking might be the most controversial of them all, but if you know, you know. The open floor plan and comfortable furniture provide a welcoming and productive work environment. With the organic sun shining through the statuesque windows onto your face and the deadly silence where you will literally hear a pin drop, what could be better on a Wednesday afternoon to catch up on some reading? There’s a reason as each block progresses and your work begins to pile up, the fourth floor gets continually more crowded. The fourth floor is rewarding, the fourth floor gets things done and the fourth floor breeds happiness and efficiency. I would say the only downfall of the fourth floor is the trek there. It is particularly awkward when my winded breathing is magnified by the deafening silence with nowhere to hide. Nothing is entirely flawless, I suppose.
Although I would stand by these rankings for life, I must acknowledge my biases. My top two floors are silent, as I prefer to work without constant nagging and nondescript chatter. However, I maintain that my assessment of Tutt Library stands true as I wish for the most efficient studying for my fellow students—I provide this review as a public service to my peers as they embark on a new year. Happy studying!