As a commuter who spends many hours a week on campus, I often find myself tired and itching for a nap. Whenever a residential student is tired in between classes, they are able to go back to their dorm room to their twin bed.
Commuters do not have that luxury, but I quickly found the perfect place on campus to nap. From the first day of Welcome Weekend, I claimed the couches in the Lohman Lounge as mine. If I was not answering my phone and could not be found on campus, those couches were where you could find me.
I cannot begin to express my love for those couches. I felt that I really bonded with them by the third week of the semester. At least once a day I would wake up from my post-class nap and say, “That was the best nap I have ever had.” Every. Day.
Each nap was greater than the last and I knew that those couches were one of the only things holding my mental stability together. I even kept a blanket in the cupboards of the lounge because how can I take a two-hour nap without a blanket?
Then Monday, my worst nightmare came to life. I was in my introduction to art therapy class when I received an urgent text message from my friend Zoe.
This text read as so: “THE COUCHES ARE GONE!!!” Attached to the message was a picture of an empty Lohman Lounge. The only items that were left in the side lounge were the treadmill, elliptical, and the flat screen television hanging from the wall.
The different mix of emotions I have felt since that moment makes me feel as if I am going crazy. I am angry because there is nowhere else I can comfortably sleep on campus. I am sad because I feel as if I have lost a part of my college experience. But mostly, I am tired.
With the Commuter Student Lounge locked almost all day, I have now been forced to take my naps in a chair. An uncomfortable, cold, hard chair with no blanket.
I am not the only commuter facing this problem though. I will not name any of my associates but there is a group of commuters that feel as passionately, if not more, as me.
For most commuters, especially those involved with on-campus organizations, there are a couple of hours that need to be killed in between organizations and classes.
A personal example of this is my Tuesdasys and Wednesdays. I start working for the Chimes at 5 p.m. both days and then every Tuesday I have Cru at 9 p.m. My classes end Tuesdays at 12:40 p.m. and Wednesdays at 2:40 p.m.
That gives me almost five hours before the Chimes on Tuesdays. Most would say that I should use that time to focus on homework, but there are only so many hours I can put toward my coursework before my brain starts to look like the DVD screensaver, the only difference being the logo never hits the corner perfectly.
I just want somewhere where I can curl up in my blanket and not be judged. If anyone has any good suggestions as to where I can take my daily naps, please email me at spasco4@capital.edu. I am open to all suggestions.
