Everyone was in a tizzy this week about Georgetown being ranked the 10th-most hipster campus.

Hermione helped us realize what College Magazine meant by “thrift stores”:

The beloved Todd Olson defends his hipster cred:

I was into Georgetown before it was cool.

With finals fast approaching and Lauinger reaching capacity every night, Vox has put together a list of some of Georgetown’s other, better places to study this finals season (not including the place we want to keep secret for ourselves).

Our on-campus suggestions:

• Hariri Building. The hidden gem for on-campus studying. As former Vox editor Molly Redden puts it, “Aside from probably having the highest working-to-non-working outlet ratio of any building on campus, it’s shiny, clean, and within I-hope-no-one-steals-my-laptop walking distance from Uncommon Grounds and Vital Vittles.”
• Blommer Science Library. Tucked away on the third floor of the Reiss Science Center, Blommer is Lau’s oft-forgotten, nerdy sibling. Study here and you will be neither seen nor heard.
• The Car Barn. Former Vox editor Juliana Brint gushed over the Car Barn two years ago, writing, “[it has] lots of tables and couches, tons of outlets, [and] multiple vending machines. It’s got its own microwave, and it’s right near one of the nicest bathrooms on campus.” Consider us sold.
• The ICC. Classrooms can only be reserved by clubs and professors, they say. Vox has seen quite a few one-person club meetings taking place during finals time in ICC rooms, so take that rule as you will.
• Walsh Building, 4th Floor. No people. No distractions. When you need to hunker down, Walsh is the place to go. With Wisey’s a short hop across the street, Vox wonders why Walsh isn’t more popular, especially considering the alleged improvements to the building’s wireless Internet.
• Healy and Maguire Halls. Vox‘s personal favorite place to write a paper, Healy Hall offers space to spread out, plenty of outlets, and a much more pleasant environment to work in than Lau. Maguire is also a great place for groups to get together when the second floor of Lau is packed. For full details on hours, consult the library’s website.

For those who want to hole themselves up off-campus, the neighborhood’s various cafes and coffee shops offer many options for hours of studying at the price of a latte. Note: this is your last chance to study at the Barnes and Noble on M Street because it is closing at the end of this year. In addition to its on-campus location, Starbucks has two shops nearby: one on M Street that offers a lovely second floor with piped-in jazz music and a fireplace to remind you it’s not Lau, and a second at the Safeway on Wisconsin that is more convenient to Burleithers.

Want Vox readers to descend upon your own secret study space? Tell us all about it in the comments!

[Editor's Note: This post was originally published last year.]

We know you’ve already started studying, which puts you miles ahead of most of us here at Vox. But here’s a couple tips for places to go if you find yourself a living like a refugee in Lauinger.

Our suggestions:

• Hariri Building. Once the hidden gem for on-campus studying, Hariri still calls the sleepless masses with its plentiful desks, power outlets, and free coffee. Unfortunately, only MSB students can reserve the precious study rooms, but many are open anyway. Also, while the building might not have a Corp stalwart like Midnight Mug, it’s close enough to Vital Vittles and Uncommon Grounds that a late-night snack break isn’t out of the question.
• Blommer Science Library. Tucked away on the third floor of the Reiss Science Center, Blommer is Lau’s oft-forgotten, nerdy sibling. Study here and you will be neither seen nor heard.
• The Car Barn. Former Vox editor Juliana Brint gushed over the Car Barn a couple years ago, writing, “[it has] lots of tables and couches, tons of outlets, [and] multiple vending machines. It’s got its own microwave, and it’s right near one of the nicest bathrooms on campus.” Consider us sold.
• Walsh Building, 4th Floor. No internet. No people. No distractions. When you need to hunker down, Walsh is the place to go. Who would’ve guessed that the University’s shoddy wireless access could be helpful once in a while?
• Off-campus WiFi spots. Although it’s a bit extreme to leave campus, sometimes a self-imposed exile works wonders to stop procrastination. Barnes and Noble on M Street is close enough that the trip won’t be a hassle and there’s plenty of food and tables to go around one you settle down. If you’re not the “book superstore” type, don’t forget to look at some of the WiFi locations Jim McGrory has suggested.

After the jump, check out some of the University’s suggested study spots.

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If you’ve been to Lauinger since you’ve been back on campus, you may have noticed a small, but shocking change to the area—open spaces.

The bookshelves that once stood directly across from the coffee shop are gone, replaced by extra tables and chairs. The changes, which were among the many suggestions made by the Student Space Working Group last spring, provide a bit more study space to the library’s often-crowded second floor.

Midnight Mug itself got a bit of a redesign as well. In addition to those comfy couches and chairs, there’s a Starbucks-esque bar along the glass wall that allows for a few additional work spaces.

Brendan McElroy (COL ’12) said the addition is “a much-needed first step towards creating more space and accessibility for students to work in the library.”

McElroy added that he will probably take advantage of the extra study space, “provided the music isn’t too loud.”

What do you think? Should we be grateful that the University is responding to our demands for more study space, or is this a half-hearted attempt to appease students without making great changes?

Photo: Julie Patterson

Did finals creep up on anybody else? Suddenly, Lauinger Library is filled with students—some cramming, some writing, and some watching Hulu to avoid impending work. As in semesters past, expect Lau to be packed until that very last final on May 15.

To help out, Voice staffers suggested some of their favorite (i.e. lesser-known) study spots both on and off-campus.

Our suggestions:

• Hariri Building. The hidden gem for on-campus studying. Hariri is clean, often empty, and has a ton of working power outlets. (Take that, Lau!) While the building might not have a Corp stalwart like Midnight Mug, it’s close enough to Vital Vittles and Uncommon Grounds that a late-night snack break isn’t out of the question.
• Blommer Science Library. Tucked away on the third floor of the Reiss Science Center, Blommer is Lau’s oft-forgotten, nerdy sibling. Study here and you will be neither seen nor heard.
• The Car Barn. Former Vox editor Juliana Brint gushed over the Car Barn last December, writing, “[it has] lots of tables and couches, tons of outlets, [and] multiple vending machines. It’s got its own microwave, and it’s right near one of the nicest bathrooms on campus.” Consider us sold.
• Walsh Building, 4th Floor. No internet. No people. No distractions. When you need to hunker down, Walsh is the place to go. Who would’ve guessed that the University’s shoddy wireless access could be helpful once in a while?
• Off-campus WiFi spots. Although it’s a bit extreme to leave campus, sometimes a self-imposed exile works wonders to stop procrastination. Barnes and Noble on M Street is close enough that the trip won’t be a hassle and there’s plenty of food and tables to go around one you settle down. If you’re not the “book superstore” type, don’t forget to look at some of the WiFi locations Jim McGrory wrote about last August.

After the jump, check out some of the University’s suggested study spots.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Studying”: Not just for Lauinger anymore!

First, the bad news: Vox will be blogging on a reduced schedule during study days, finals, and winter break. We’ll do our best to run three posts a day, but finals may intervene—besides, the student body just won’t be doing as many delightful and interesting things over the next few weeks as it normally does.

Now for the “good” news: as Lauinger Library will be flirting with its maximum occupancy levels for the next thirteen days, Vox has a round up of the various other study spots on campus suggested by the University and favored by Voice staffers.

Our staff suggests:

• The Car Barn. Specifically, the graduate student lounge on the second floor. Former Vox editor Juliana Brint writes has “lots of tables and couches, tons of outlets, [and] multiple vending machines. It’s got its own microwave, and it’s right near one of the nicest bathrooms on campus.” And one of those vending machines sells energy drinks.

• The Hariri Building. Aside from probably having the highest working-to-non-working outlet ratio of any building on campus, it’s shiny, clean, and within I-hope-no-one-steals-my-laptop walking distance from Uncommon Grounds and Vital Vittles.

• Off-campus wi-fi hotspots. When Georgetown just can’t hold all of us, it’s time to venture off campus to places like the Barnes and Noble on M Street, which have food, tables, and wireless.James McGrory suggested a host of wi-fi abundant locales around the District back in August, like Baked & Wired (near B & N) and Crepes-a-Go-Go. (See a trend? These places may be a bit of a hike, but they serve up delicious study snacks).

• Blommer Science Library. Located on the third floor of the Reiss Science Center.

Check out Georgetown’s suggestions, with classroom reservation links after the jump!

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Hostage to homework

We all joke about living in Lau during finals, but apparently one student took that a little too literally.  Behold, the most amusing DPS blotter of the year, via the Hoya:

Tuesday May 5
Missing Person-Found, 3600 Block of Reservoir Rd. NW, 12:57 p.m.
The complainant filed a missing persons report regarding no contact since 05-01-09 from her roommate. The roommate was located on campus in good health. She had been completing a research paper.

No matter how poorly your finals went, at least you left the library often enough that your roommate didn’t suspect that you disappeared.

The trick is making it into a useful series of tubes

Usually the combination of the finals and the internet results in bad, bad things. Things like spending 36 hours on the computer and finding you have a grand total of 250 words written. But the internet isn’t all time-suck! Check out Vox’s list of internet tools that will actually boost your finals productivity.

First and foremost, for the distracted: there are a few solutions to keep you from using the internet as a glorious tool of free-roaming mischief, and instead to stay on task for that deadly 20 pager you’ve only just begun. Actually, within the realms of pages you’d find on google, the internet also offers a solution for your scatterbrain. Dr. Wicked has a prescription for your internet hyperactivity, and it isn’t a few doses of Adderall: Write-or-Die. Just let this internet-based program know that you want to complete a certain number of pages in a certain amount of time, and if you don’t live up to your potential, your screen will start flashing and your speakers will resonate with terrible music. Apparently you don’t want to piss this program off.

More helpful programs after the jump!

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