With all thy getting, get a date: Students find many reasons to visit the library during dead week
Utah State University’s Merrill-Cazier library experiences an increase in traffic from students during dead week. Most go there to study, but it’s not just books that are being checked out.
“I just picked up a girl here at the library last week,” said William Anderson, a sophomore studying business. “We went to a movie and just hung out. So far it’s been working out.”
The library is more than just a quiet place to do homework. For Anderson, it’s the ideal place to meet new people.
“Generally, I just try to find something that we have in common,” Anderson said, “If I notice something, I’ll just mention it. That’s normally how I go in.”
The quiet library atmosphere does not always make approaching people very easy, but for Anderson, the risk is worth it.
“It’s kind of a dangerous game because I think that oftentimes if you try to approach a girl at the library, she’s kind of too busy or is doing something or needs to get something done,” Anderson said. “You’ve just got to feel it out. And you’ve got to make sure that they aren’t, like, too busy, and probably don’t talk to them in the quiet area ever. But just go for it.”
Kendra Adamson, a freshman studying business communications, said flirting is difficult in the library because of the volume control that is courteously enforced.
“It’s awkward because they’re, like, trying to be quiet because they’re in the library,” Adamson said.
Adamson, who went on a date with someone she met from the library, said that overall, girls are generally accepting of a guy’s attempt at flirting.
“Don’t be shy,” she said. “Have confidence because confidence is attractive.”
Rebekah Croft, a freshman majoring in elementary education, has had a few dates from library encounters. She said that while she mainly uses the library to get homework done, she knows where the flirting happens.
“If you want to get hit on, I feel like the first floor is where guys usually go for stuff like that,” Croft said. “But the higher up you go, the more anti-social people get.”
Study rooms can pose a challenge for those wanting to interact with others. Jace Goodwin, a sophomore studying art and design, said he knows people who know how to break the ice, even in the enclosed space.
“A buddy told me yesterday that he saw a girl that he wanted to ask out in a study room full of people in a meeting,” Goodwin said. “He was like, ‘Oh I can’t talk to her,’ and then he sat down and he was like, ‘You’re not a wuss. Go talk to her.’ So he opens the door — he’s never met this girl — and he’s like, ‘Uh, hey. What’s your name?’ And then he’s like, ‘Can I talk to you outside for a sec(ond)?’ And he got her number. I don’t know how he got her number.”
Although no lasting relationships have ever come from the library for Goodwin, he said he knows how to approach girls there.
“I saw an interesting girl sitting in one of the chairs upstairs, and I sat next to her and said that there were no other spots even though the room was empty,” Goodwin said.
Senior and graphic design major Gabriel Rivera said the majority of flirting that happens at the library is started by males, rather than females.
“There was a funny story I saw last week actually,” he said. “There was this girl. She was real pretty, and there were like three guys and all of them are like chatting in the background, and she was just sitting there, just minding her own business. And the guys were like, ‘OK, who is going to go first?’ And then, one-by-one, they tried to flirt with her, but she bounced all of them, like she rejected all of them.”
The main purpose of the library, according to the mission statement Merrill-Cazier webpage’s mission statement, is to stimulate creative thinking and maintain an environment where teaching and learning can flourish. To some people, this kind of studying in the library makes a person more attractive.
“I think guys are more attracted to smarter girls,” Rivera said. “Being in the library, it helps.”
Kasely Winterton, a junior studying diabetics, said the library is a good resource to meet intelligent people.
“I like smart guys, so if they want a smart girl, the library is a good place to be,” Winterton said.
Croft is more hesitant on the subject and said she doesn’t believe library attendance automatically makes a person smart.
“I definitely think smarter guys are more attractive,” she said. “But just because they’re at the library doesn’t mean they’re actually studying.”
— alyssa.hawkins@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @_alyssahawkins