Commuter Life: Bartlett Sitting Room
ey comfort of the Bartlett sitting room and other homes
away from home on Maryville’s campus. Photo by Ariana Hansen.
For this edition my column, I will be doing a feature on the Bartlett Sitting Room from a commuter’s view point. Some of you are probably thinking, “Why would you sit in the sitting room when the lounge for commuters is right upstairs?” I’ll tell you why.
To begin, I believe that the couches provided for us in the sitting room are much more comfortable in comparison to those in the commuter lounge. While the places to sit in the lounge are comfy, they are just not up to par with the sitting room.
Since it is winter, a HUGE advantage to the sitting room is the fireplace. Not only does it provide warmth, it also creates a cozy atmosphere. The fireplace is my favorite feature about the sitting room, and one of my favorite things on the entire campus.
The atmosphere is also more encouraging for doing homework in compared to the commuter lounge. The only place that competes is the library, but there are typically many other students in there. It is normally serene and peaceful in the sitting room, and therefore a great place to dive into writing a paper, reading a book or doing a homework assignment.
Fellow commuter Kandyn Leach agrees with me on this point. Leach said, “There is always too much happening in [the commuter lounge] for me to get any work done.”
Another fantastic point that Leach brought up is that sometimes it can feel like you are intruding when going into the commuter lounge. There are people who make it their home. If you are not a frequent visitor you may feel a bit out of place.
I have also experienced this feeling. I think that while no one is intentionally being off putting, it just happens.
Maryville College is filled with friendly people, but even when two people are friends it is not polite to barge into another person’s space.
The Bartlett sitting room is a great place to relax if you are a commuter and need to kill some time or just get some work done.
For example, I have an hour to kill between two of my classes this semester. I am thankful that I have the sitting room as a quiet place to relax in.
It is almost like a home away from home, not only for commuters, but also for students who live on campus. Many residential students frequently use the sitting room as well which makes it a great place for them to mingle with commuters.
There are many other places for commuters to hang out besides in Bartlett. The library in Thaw Hall is one option.
Also for all the commuters that have classes in Anderson, there are many options for just staying there as long as needed. There are always plenty of open study rooms and classrooms to hang out in.
Overall I would say that Bartlett’s sitting room beats any other lounging area on campus by far.
