Faux Pas Fix with Anne Zeumer: Let's Just Relax

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Faux Pas Fix with Anne Zeumer - Every month in Arts and Lifestyle

By Anne Zeumer


A recent knee injury left me on crutches for a few weeks this past month. I am fine now, but my short stint of taking it easy made me realize something our fine university lacks: adequate couch space. To my dismay, there are only a few areas with couches, and those few are always packed with couch-hungry people, so the relaxation aspect of couchtime is made impossible by the constant noise and the hustle and bustle. With 20 some odd thousand students, and tons of commuters, Stony Brook has got to accomodate the couch needs of it's students, and it's simply not measuring up.


There's the SAC "No Food" Lounge. Well, those couches are okay. The problem is that they're just along a wall, there isn't really any comfortable arrangement to relax with friends, unless you want to turn your head constantly. We need couches to face one another, be a little more intimate, if you will. For that, there's always the 3rd floor SAC lounge. Yeah, that lounge would be fantastic, if only every tired person on campus didn't go there to occupy an entire couch and pass out. The only other place I can think of with couches is the reading room in the library. Those aren't really couches though, more like cushioned chairs, and you just can't get comfortable enough to really enjoy them. What I propose is a huge open room somewhere, maybe fill in one of the Ballrooms, with tons of couches, in various arrangements, and maybe a machine for hot cocoa. There isn't enough space on campus for all of us to relax at once. Tables and chairs, let's be honest, make your butt kill after a while. If I have a 2 and a half hour break in between classes, I'm sure as hell not sitting in a hard chair.


I know that nobody will do anything about this. I also know that I'm probably just crazy and my passion for comfortable seating is something a minority of people probably share. But let's all think about this. Let's think about couches and relaxing, especially now that the weather is getting cold, and lolling around outside isn't an appealing option so much anymore. Maybe let's discuss it over a cup of hot cocoa on a nice couch... if we can find one.


Look for "Faux Pas with Anne Zeumer" each month in the Arts and Lifestyle section. For last month's column, click here .