Sitting in a class in Stanton Hall (245 Lex) is challenging in more ways than one. On one hand, professors try to keep students on the edge of their seats with new and exciting ideas. On the other hand, the desks are not quite big enough for the challenge—literally. Trying to balance laptops and papers on the small desk tops has proved a major frustration to students in past years.
The co-chairs of last year’s Student Life Committee, Ruth Brown (SCW ’13) and Elana Raskas (SCW ’13), set out to solve this problem. With a little help from the Office of Student Life and the administration, the Student Life Committee has ensured that Stanton Hall will be receiving newer and larger desks over the next couple years.
Brown and Raskas first came up with the idea of new desks while trying to think of a project that would benefit most of the students on campus. “We are students ourselves; we thought about what wasn’t meeting our needs, and we all sit in class on a daily basis,” said Brown. After noticing how less cramped it was to sit in the new, spacious desks in the Sy Syms (215) building, Brown and Raskas decided that Stanton Hall could use similar amenities.
The Student Life Committee first went to Dean Bacon with the idea. Dean Bacon informed the Committee that she felt that they were making a very reasonable request, and encouraged them to push for the new desks.
When the idea was brought to the administration, the Student Life Committee was informed that ordering new desks was on the agenda. Since funds are tight, the idea had been put on the back burner. However, because the students were taking up the cause, Joseph Cook, Director of Facilities, and Jeffrey Rosengarten, Vice President of Administrative Services, worked with the Student Life Committee in order to make the new desks a reality sooner.
Besides for the financial considerations, a practical obstacle had to be overcome. Larger desks take up more space; the school had to find desks that were comfortable but would not reduce class size.
Irit Greenboim (SCW ’14) was sent to test out a new set of desks. She reported that the desks that they are ordering are larger than the ones that are currently in the 215 building and have the added benefit of not being “lefty” or “righty” desks. Instead, the desk is attached to the chair from the bottom, making it easier to accommodate every student.
So far, seventy desks have been ordered. These new desks will be placed in a newly renovated classroom in Stanton Hall at the beginning of the semester. If the students are pleased with the desks that have been chosen, the rest of the desks will be phased in over the next couple of years.
The Student Life Committee is grateful to the administration for seeing the student body’s needs and for being receptive to the committee’s ideas. As the new desks in Stanton Hall indicate, the SCW administration encourages students to voice their concerns and truly tries to enhance the SCW experience in many ways. Let this new era of more comfortable learning be the beginning of many more productive solutions and educational advances at SCW.