Luke Firoozye is a journalism sophomore and rotational opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
It’s a Thursday morning at 11 a.m. following class, and a pile of readings and homework sits ominously in my to-do list. But on this day, it seems like everyone else is dealing with the same thing, resulting in there being limited places to go.
That leaves a few options; look for a seat in the noisy 1901 Marketplace, isolating Baker Building and Frost Center, or go off-campus.
“Not having a library really changed what I do. If I have time, I just go back home,” said Angel Solano, an aerospace engineering senior who lives off-campus.
Part of the “classic college experience” includes the studying and cramming sessions until the early hours of the morning, but nearly half of Cal Poly’s population has never had a designated library study space for this.
The Kennedy Library has been undergoing construction since June 2023, and a recent update says that it is expected to meet its anticipated reopening date of fall 2025. In the meantime, nearly two years without a library has had an unmistakable impact on students.
In the absence of the Kennedy Library, Cal Poly has promoted a list of temporary study locations, but many of these locations are not very conducive to concentrating on work.
In my experience, these places are often overcrowded and without ample space to sit during the day (just check the activity tracker in the middle of a school day). For the majority of students who live off campus, the University Union is too far or too busy. Most other campus buildings close at 10 p.m., which restricts people like myself, who have class and work all day.
The study tents make for a strange feeling when sitting in a dark cave and can become unbearable to be in on a hot day. “I tried the whole white tent thing, but I’m not going to sit in a white tent to study,” Jack Dresick, a fourth-year Agriculture Business major, said. Dresick used the library frequently in his first two years at Cal Poly, but hasn’t found a replacement on campus “I’m at home a lot more. It’s definitely forced me out into the city looking for a place to replicate the library.”.
During the first quarter of this year, I would spend unproductive hours in my room at home or in buildings that had many distractions. I could feel my mental health deteriorating as time went on from all the time alone and other people certainly felt similarly.
It feels reasonable to want a peaceful space that is both welcoming and also quiet enough that someone can focus on their work. Friends of mine who go to other schools utilize their school’s library daily as both a gathering spot and a proper place to get work done, something that Cal Poly has been unable to replicate in the absence of the Kennedy Library.
The energy of other people studying in a library is infectious. However, there simply is not enough space on campus to allow each person to study comfortably in peace.
Most importantly, it’s harder to access the physical books because the Library Services based in Crandall Gym, where many of the books have also been housed during construction, hasn’t been promoted widely. It’s nice that these services are still available, and I’m grateful for them, but it’s a problem I didn’t know about them until I started researching for this article.
The library is a resource for students and it’s great that we’ll be able to use it sooner than expected. I’m glad it’s being improved for safety and effectiveness. Still, the transition during construction left much to be desired. Libraries are centers for social and academic college experiences, and Cal Poly has not effectively compensated for losing a five-story hub that could house thousands. Students deserve better, and it’s not too late to make a change.