I believe that the group study rooms should be available to be reserved by one person.

College can be overwhelming with the piles of incoming workloads that seem to keep popping up in our Canvas dashboards. Sometimes we just need a quiet place to study away and the Palomar College Library is the go-to spot for many students.

The library at the San Marcos campus consists of four levels; each serving a different purpose. The fourth level is “Silent Study” where you can find the office of the Superintendent/President, library instruction classrooms, an extensive book collection, the Governing Board room, library faculty offices, and group study rooms. According to palomar.edu, “these rooms can be reserved for a maximum of 3 hours (non-renewable) by groups of 2 or more people.”

These rooms are a great resource for groups to collaborate but if you are like me, studying comes easier in solo sessions. The individual study desks aren’t always available during certain times of the day and can’t provide the silence needed for concentration that the study rooms can.

In a 2019 survey, 75% of students reported better concentration during solitary studying; according to the National Survey of Student Engagement.

Many students find that the whiteboards in these rooms can be especially useful when it comes to memorizing the millions of terms or formulas needed for exams (STEM majors, I’m looking at you).

Additionally, if you need a large table space to spread out your work or if you forgot your headphones and need to watch a lecture from your online class- where would be a great place to go?

The study rooms.

Too often these rooms are empty while the cubicles are full. Comets, let’s come together to advocate for a rule reform that only one person is required to book a room.