Things you should and shouldn’t do at Morisset Library
The difference between your high school library and that of a university is colossal. In secondary school, you were constantly told to “Shh,” you weren’t allowed to eat, and studying in pairs was frowned upon. At university, you can drink coffee and eat pizza while studying in groups of five. This doesn’t give you a free pass to do whatever you want. There are standards of etiquette that are in your best interest to follow. Take note, young freshmen, and learn from the master of Morisset.
DO choose where you study wisely. There are places where you can talk and places where audible noise is frowned upon. If you want to study in a group, go to the fifth floor. If you want a bit of background noise, head down a level to the fourth. If you want complete silence to the point where typing on your laptop feels like a sin, then take the elevator to either the third or sixth floor. The 24-hour study room in the basement of Morisset is also ideal for hard core, silent cramming.
DO bring everything you need with you. If you show up with only a pen and a mangled granola bar found at the bottom of your purse, you will be making multiple trips out of the library that will cut into valuable study time. A slow, meandering walk to the Pivik for some snacks, a visit to Second Cup for a latte, or a hike to another floor to borrow some paper from a friend really adds up. Pack one of those obnoxiously large gym bags with everything you think you might need and then some: pens, paper, Wite-Out, snacks, water bottle, cellphone charger, glasses, a catheter—everything.
DO get to the library early if possible, especially during exam time. Nothing is worse than doing an endless loop around each of the floors in the building while looking for a spot to study.
DON’T be a study cube squatter, especially during exam time when library real estate is at a premium. Study cube squatters are like mysterious library ghosts who vanish for hours or even days on end, leaving behind a jacket or a half-empty bag of chips to save their seat. Eventually, someone will move your stuff to the floor and you’ll be shit out of luck.
DO remember your student card if you plan to book a private room. Even if half of the group has their student cards on hand, trying to book a room makes you want to bang your head against the reserve desk. Library staff will insist that everyone in your group shows their student ID.
DON’T be “that guy” and create enough distractions that everyone around you begins to sharpen their No. 2 HB pencils just waiting for the next opportunity to sever your jugular.
This includes:
¤ Eating baby carrots, chips, or anything crunchy. Just don’t.
¤ Watching YouTube videos at a volume quiet enough so that no one else can distinguish what you’re listening to, but loud enough so everyone becomes distracted and enraged. Everyone knows Charlie bit the kid’s finger and it hurt—get over it already and stop laughing so loudly.
¤ Talking on your phone. “Amanda totally hooked up with Ben at the beer pong tourney in Brooks and then Ben ditched her and Amanda got lost on the way back to 90U and I was like OMG Amanda you’re so stupid and then, like, we went to Elgin Street Diner and I spilled a whole poutine on my dress” No one else gives a shit so shut the hell up.
DON’T be a library hog.
Taking up an entire study booth or table for a single person is just plain rude. Library hogs act as though they’ve encountered a bear and had to make themselves appear as large as possible to avoid an attack. They spread out absolutely everything they brought to the library—a backpack on one seat, laptop on the table, jacket on the other seat with their feet propped up. If you encounter one of these characters, use your own bear avoidance tactics and bang pots and pans around until he or she GTFO.
-Sarah Gisele
