Small campus spaces with big meaning
Three students share their favourite locations on campus and why they matter.
Listen to the audio version of this article here!*
Dibs on the high stool left of the middle column at the high-top table in front of Tim Hortons
By Madhav Ajayamohan
At some point or another, everyone on campus has a favourite quiet, studying spot. Many gravitate towards the library, while others take their pick of the quiet study areas and cubicles littered around campus. For me, however, there is one place I choose without question: that one high-top table right in front of the Tim Hortons in the William G. Davis Building.
You know the place I am talking about—parallel to the lengthy Tim Hortons line, with those tall white bar stools that seem uncomfortable, but are actually pretty nice. That’s my spot. My favourite spot is sitting next to the middle column of the table—preferably to the left, but I don’t mind the right.
It may seem like an odd place to sit. I mean, how can you be focused amidst all the noise and hubbub that always happens around Davis? It’s never been an issue for me. Once I plug in my headphones, put some music in the background, the world fades away and I can concentrate. Any time I look up, I can still see people and the world around me happening.
I always hated studying in silence, when it’s just me in a quiet space with nothing filling the room. That’s why I study with music, so it’s never really quiet. After coming to UTM, I find myself surrounded by me, myself, and I most of the time.
So, while I sit on that white stool surrounded by students, I feel connected to the people around me. I remember that I’m not alone, that there is so much around me that I am a part of. And the best part is, there’s always someone around in Davis, even around 11:00 p.m., when the cleaning staff starts to kick us out.
A place that I was afraid of became my favourite spot
By Avneet Kaur
In my first year, I never sat on the steps in the Maanjiwe nendamowinan (MN) building.
I walked past them every day, at least a few times a day. They rise in wide wooden tiers right in the middle of the building, where every passerby can see you. As a new student, being that visible felt like an exposure that I was not ready for. But the desire to sit there kept bubbling.
By second year, I started testing myself. I would climb up, find a spot near the edge and open my laptop, pretending to be working so no one would notice I was there. Some days I stayed a short while; some days I tried to stay but felt fixated eyes on my back, tracking my every move. I intended to grow out of my shell, to find out who I was when I wasn’t hiding, and the steps became the place where I would practise doing it.
Somewhere along the way, a mere practice turned into a habit.
Now, as a third-year, the steps are my go-to place to sit. From the top, I can watch all the movement in the building—students rushing from one class to another, groups of friends chit-chatting in the corner. Every so often, I spot a face hiding behind a screen, walking shyly and stiffly with their eyes glued to their phone, hoping no one notices them. I know that walk; it used to be mine.
Nobody believes such exposure gets easier until they sit down and experience it themselves. Maanjiwe nendamowinan means “gathering of minds.” It suggests that MN is a place for people to gather and sit, think and exchange ideas.
It helps that MN is beautiful. Painted steps with creatures running beside the big wooden steps add colour to the building. It is an open space that makes you feel small and welcome at once. It is a good place to be a student.
On a snowy day, I grab a hot chocolate from the Fair Trade Café, find a spot on the steps and read while the weather settles outside. The building is warm. I comfortably settle down and enjoy flipping pages slowly while people rush beside me.
The steps haven’t changed since my first year, but I have. They remember every version of a shy student who couldn’t sit still, and they welcome the version who is free of any hesitations.
What once felt like awkward exposure now feels like a meeting point for my old self and me, witnessing how I have grown.
Me and the cubicle against the world
By Mari Khan
Over the summer, my life revolved around two things: a full-time job and full-time school. At 5 p.m., after meetings and end-of-day deadlines, I still had to make up hours for the time I took off to attend classes. I was worried about my pending assignments while I was trying to demonstrate my value at work. I was overwhelmed.
I would drift from MN to the library, and I would always find myself at the same cubicle on the fourth floor. As soon as I sat down, I felt calm. My thoughts were confined to the three faces of the partition in the cubicle. Everything felt manageable. Everything felt fine. I was ready to be productive and get through the final stretch of my day.
During my most stressful moments—when an assignment is due, I’m cramming before an exam, or balancing work and school, I always find myself drifting back to the cubicle. It’s where I can focus, cry, and scheme. It feels cozy and nostalgic. The cubicle has seen me through everything. From getting my first A on a test, creating beautiful spreadsheets and presentations to impress my supervisors to rationalizing how I can study all the semester’s content in four hours.
It’s me and that cubicle against the world. And we win every single time.
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Features Editor (Volume 51); Associate Features Editor (Volume 50) — Madhav is a third year student completing a double major in mathematics and computer science, and a minor in professional writing. Everyone in UTM has a unique story that makes them special and deserves to be told. As the Features Editor, Madhav wants to narrate these types of stories with creative and descriptive writing. In his off-time, Madhav loves watching anime, reading manga or fantasy novels and listening to music.
