Students in need of more dry areas during winter

By Lynda Helm
The Collegian

THE RAIN IS pouring down your drenched hair and beginning to soak into your backpack. You have an hour to kill so you decide to seek shelter indoors. You walk into the Student Union for a bite to eat and find a warm, dry sanctuary.

Now to find a place to sit and eat your meal. You look through two stories of the Student Union and The Bucket but find every seat taken.

Fresno State has thousands of students yet there are only two big areas available to eat during the winter season.

It is no wonder the area fills up quickly throughout the day. The Round Table pizzeria is so small it fills up quickly, rain or shine.

The library is another place for shelter but food is not allowed. The only other options are classroom buildings, study rooms and the Resident Dining Facility.

There is a possible solution for this soggy dilemma. The couches on the second floor of the USU are warm and cozy, but the round tables currently in use on the lower floor create large amounts of unused space.

For starters, the tables could be smaller. Currently there are a number of tables built for five or more students. This is great if students happen to have a group to eat with, but chances are their lunch break does not coincide with their classmates.

The large round tables can result in someone eating with a group of people he or she does not know.
Why not have a larger amount of small tables for one or two people? If a group of five or more want to eat together they can scoot the tables together. Rearranging the tables could also create more room for more places to eat.

Often one person will occupy a large table. Technically there are four other seats available but it seems almost rude to disturb that one person.

Plus you cannot always be positive that the person is in fact alone. I find it fascinating how many ways students will attempt to save their seats when they get up.

Most use their backpack or binders. However, some use less obvious items. I was once turned away from a table at the last minute because someone had saved it with a newspaper and a fork.

It is extremely frustrating to walk through the pouring rain, lugging your books, backpack, heavy coat and umbrella from one building to another.

School is in session for 10 months out of the year. Several of those months it rains in Fresno.

Something needs to be done to keep us warm and dry throughout the rainy season.

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