By Ayana Bessard, Staff Writer

Published Oct. 1, 2014

When you live on campus, it’s extremely easy to find yourself bored.

If you’re not in class, eating, or studying you’re probably watching TV or reading recycled tweets on Twitter.

Thinking back to my underclassmen years, there were just too many days where I’d only have to leave my room to eat at the cafeteria. It wasn’t by choice, though. 

UNCG doesn’t necessarily offer many places on campus that are more inviting than my bed.

I’m sure the dining hall, EUC food court, and fountain are all great places for socializing and interacting with friends during the day, but what about when they close? Or when it’s cold?

You sure won’t see me sitting around with my friends, laughing, in thirty-degree weather.

The other day, I asked a group of students sitting around the fountain during lunchtime if that was their hang out spot. After confirming that it was, I asked if they planned to continue hanging out there for the rest of the year.

One of them, Amber Longley, laughed and said “No way! We definitely need to find somewhere else to get together for when it gets really cold outside.”

We talked about the possibility of grabbing your crew and going back to the room to hang out and play video games but then there’s the hassle of on campus living:

You can’t be too loud, you can’t have too many people (not that there is even enough space for that), your room is probably not even clean, and your roommate almost always seems to be taking her mid-day nap.

After ruling out the EUC, Moran Commons, and your room we’re left with the recreational areas in the residence halls.

These are usually pretty cool, typically having something along the lines of a pool table or table tennis and some pretty big TVs.

The problem with these is that they’re specifically open to the students who live in the residence hall.

We need areas that are open to all students on campus, and even visitors that may be tagging along with a student.

Ideally, this recreational area or building would have multiple TVs, with video game and movie options.  And, of course, food would be served, plenty of seating would be offered, and provide music as a tool to promote the “fun” atmosphere.

It should definitely stay open pretty late, because campus is notorious for pretty much closing up shop by 8 p.m.

It’s a lot more convenient for students who live both on and off of campus, and it also promotes the idea of meeting and interacting with new people on our campus.

Shannon Morgan, a student on campus, explains “that could be a really awesome way to keep students from following the wrong crowd or getting in trouble outside of campus.” 

She makes a great point and further described some of the things an ideal recreational area should look like.

This is definitely doable. Surprisingly enough, there are college campuses across the country that has bars and pubs right next to campus. S

tudents at UNC Chapel Hill don’t go to The Library to read or study, they go for drinks.

Ironically, for those of you who don’t know, that’s the name of a really cool bar next to campus.

And those who live on campus don’t have to worry about finding a safe way home because it’s as simple as a walk across campus

I’m certain that we’d see a lot less students packing up to go home every weekend if we had more on-campus places to just hang out and socialize.

Let’s be honest, people from the middle of nowhere probably have more options than we have on campus.

So UNCG, we’re anticipating the day you put a bar on campus, preferably right next to the library, so that we can take shots after we’ve spent the entire day there studying.