The Black Sheep FR
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• a college newspaper that’s actually about college •
Volume 1, Issue 4 9/27/12 - 10/3/12
theblacksheeponline.com @blacksheepUTK
The Library Distraction Effect Emily Hagenburger wrote this
You have a test to study for, or an essay to write, or a group project to work on. The obvious choice is to go to the library, right? Though it seems like the most studious atmosphere to get shit done, a trip to Hodges may hurt you more than it helps. Why? Because everybody goes to the library. And when you place hundreds of overly A.D.D. college kids in one place, shit almost surely does not actually get done. Readers, all of you have gone through this process at one point: you decide to meet up with some friends in the Starbucks area or on the 3rd or 6th group studying floors. You get there, spread out your books and laptops, have all the appearances of looking productive, and then 9 times out of 10 you end up spending more time goofing off than you do working. For one, when you have to study, anything, anything seems more entertaining than what you actually need to get done. There are many reasons as to why library distraction happens. First off, you brought friends with you. Mistake. Now countless scenarios can occur. Consider the following: Your friends start discussing their engineering class. Suddenly thermodynamics seems really interesting to you in a way it never was before. Then another friend shows you an addicting game online. There goes one hour wasted. Before you know it you find yourself pondering life’s questions and posing them to the group – “If you had to choose, would you rather have the claws of a crab or the legs of an ostrich?” Then you remember you’re supposed to be writing an essay on the War of 1812. You have a burst of productivity for thirty minutes… then of course Sarah wants to show you a picture of a cute guy in her class, and somehow you end up looking at every picture on his Facebook since 2006. Basically, when you study with friends, you’re just inviting distractions into your life. Then again, studying alone isn’t foolproof either. Even by yourself, you devise many reasons to be unproductive. You go solo into Hodges, weave through the innumerable rows of books to find a good place to set up, then you sit there staring at your computer screen, trying to force yourself to work.
Five Students You Will Sit Next to in Class This is assuming you attend five classes, of course.
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Suddenly, listening to an adjacent table’s conversation about their roommates’ inability to clean up after themselves is the most interesting thing in the world to you. You try to fix the situation by putting in headphones, but then you get too caught up in singing along to Lil’ Wayne to concentrate on calculus. Then you decide you need more caffeine to fuel your academic ventures so you go to Starbucks…for the third time. Any time you do spend working then allows you to justify a study break that ends up being much longer than the actual study time. “I’ve written 100 words! This totally allows some r/funny browsing time.” An hour later, you notice a weird pain in your neck. Obviously you
what’s inside
need to Google your symptoms to find out what’s wrong. You then realize that you must be dying, so what’s the point in even studying for accounting anymore? You need to enjoy life while you can! Then you curl up in one of those cubicles meant for grad students and take a nap. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you go in a group of friends or by yourself, but somehow every well-meaning trip to Hodges ends up with you going home feeling oddly less productive than you expected. But you’re not to blame, and even your friends aren’t to blame. It’s the library distraction effect, and it claims millions of student victims every semester. Just remember - you are not alone.
from the streets
cone zone campus
how do you cope with the struggle of living on a dry campus?
how about we just tear down the whole campus, huh? let’s start from scratch.
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