By Claire Crow
Executive Staff
“Are you a first floor or third floor gal?”
Almost everyone can agree that various forms of this question circulate around the many pockets of library chatter on a daily basis. And if you’re a duPont regular, then you understand the nature of this question and how strongly people feel about their preferred places to study.
Most of the time, students can even tell where you’ve been sitting just based on your appearance. For instance, on days when I’m lacking sleep or I haven’t brushed my hair in a few days, someone might dare to ask me, “Oh wow, you’re looking rough. How long have you been down in the ATC?”
Or, if someone descends the duPont staircase with glazed eyes and a lifeless expression, chances are you will hear someone say to them, “Uh oh. You have that third floor look.”
According to Sewanee’s vernacular, I’m definitely a “first floor gal,” and my purpose with this piece is to convince you why a particular table on the main floor is the greatest table you will ever have the blessing of studying at. My friends and I call it, “The Good Table.”
To the average person, this table most likely appears to be just like all the others. But, to us, when we swing open the doors of duPont on an early Monday morning, The Good Table shines as if it’s arrayed in gold, handcrafted by the finest woodworker in the state of Tennessee.
What makes The Good Table the superior table is its location. Although the first floor can become loud and overly chatty at times, The Good Table lies in the perfect spot: you’re far enough away from the noise to where you can tone everything out, but you can still choose to listen to your surroundings at any given moment. In other words, you won’t experience “FOMO” but you’ll also remain productive. What more could a Sewanee student ask for?
While a lot of my peers complain that the first floor distracts them due to friends approaching them as they study, The Good Table protects one from this issue. Yes, it’s in the row of long wooden tables in the center of the main floor; but because our table is the last one of the row, usually students looking to start conversations will stumble upon other people to distract long before they make it to The Good Table.
Not to mention, if you sit on the side facing the Cup and Gown, chances are the cafe’s manager will lock eyes with you whenever she’s offering up free chips or leftover coffee.
I am reluctant to reveal any more about The Good Table for fear of total exposure of our self-made paradise. We have already had so many tragic library trips already where we arrive to find that another group has usurped The Good Table from us for the day. But, if you think you know which table I’m talking about, I encourage you to snatch it from us every once in a while. Everyone deserves a chance to have a taste of The Good Table at some point as a student, so I guess we can start sharing the wealth a little more often.