As final exams approach, some UF students still have work to finish and notebooks to flip through to ensure they pass their classes.
Many students will relocate from Library West to Marston Science Library, which became UF’s 24/5 library this term, to watch last-minute lectures and complete lengthy practice exams.
With the addition of Marston’s 24-hour Starbucks and extended library hours, students study in solidarity as a caffeine-powered student body.
A change of scenery
Phill Smith was distracted by the pretty girls in Library West.
The UF engineering sophomore said there were "too many attractive people there," and that’s why the 20-year-old said he prefers Marston.
On Monday afternoon, Smith said he would stay in Marston until 11 p.m. to study for an engineering materials exam. He said he procrastinated for his Tuesday exam.
"I procrastinate until I hate myself," he said.
Sometimes, Smith climbs to the fourth floor of Marston to avoid distractions. He said the personalized desk cubbies on the silent floor help him focus.
"I’ll study until my computer dies, and that’s just when I’m out of here," he said. "You do have a problem with outlets."
While Library West has more outlets than Marston, Marston has more seats, wrote Patrick Reakes, the associate dean for scholarly resources and services for UF’s Smathers Libraries, in an email. Marston has about 1,940 outlets, and Library West has about 2,900.
Marston has recently added more outlets and seats. Currently, he said, Marston has 2,116 seats on its five floors, while Library West has only 1,400 on its five floors available to students.
When Smith went to the library, he got lucky: He found a table with an outlet in the crowded library.
But he said he wouldn’t try to pull an all-nighter, even if he should.
"I stay until I find myself on Facebook way too much," he said.
The couple that studies together, stays together
By 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Erica Esquivel and Steven Paek had been at Marston for four hours.
The couple sat in large chairs on Marston’s ground floor, and the small table in front of them was partially covered by three Starbucks cups.
"He’s probably here because I’m here," said Esquivel about her boyfriend.
Esquivel, a 19-year-old UF economics sophomore, said she had four exams to study for, two of which are today. She didn’t plan to leave Marston until 3:30 a.m.
"It’s hard to study for everything at once," she said. "I fall asleep if I’m not sitting up."
Esquivel said she lives off campus, so Marston is more convenient than Library West because parking is closer.
Paek prefers Marston to Library West, too. He said there’s more background noise at Marston.
"I have to be distracted to study," the 20-year-old electrical engineering sophomore said. "(At Library West,) it’s too creepy, and it’s too quiet."
He said he purposefully puts off studying until the night before because he works best under pressure. He also likes to study at the Chi Phi Fraternity house.
"My best studying happens at parties," he said. "I can’t be by myself."
Survival of the fittest
Taylor Parker was up all night Tuesday.
By 2 a.m., Parker had been in Marston for about seven hours, and she didn’t plan to leave — even to sleep — any time soon.
"I don’t nap, I just go to sleep," the 20-year old said. "There is no nap."
Parker, a UF junior studying French, international studies and health science, said she was at Marston to write three final essays and study for a physics exam.
"I’m just out here surviving," she said.
But Parker said she wishes she were studying at Library West late at night. She said she preferred Library West being the 24-hour study spot because it was farther from the center of campus and farther from her dorm, which gave her more motivation to power through her work.
"It was so far away from home," Parker said. "Once I got there I was like, ‘Oh I can’t go back now.’"
She said she intentionally left her bike at North Hall, her dorm, so she wouldn’t convince herself to leave.
Parker said she goes to the library to study about three times a week and frequently pulls all-nighters around exam time.
While she doesn’t rely on coffee to help her work through her study sessions, she said she enjoys indulging in Starbucks green tea to stay awake.
"I’m not entirely convinced it was (just) green tea," she said and then laughed.
Power naps
It was Kalaivanan Murthy’s first time falling asleep at the library.
At 2 a.m. Tuesday, the 24-year-old environmental engineering sciences master’s student was huddled in the back of one of Marston’s computer labs with his head tucked under his arms and his Dell laptop charging next to him.
"I’m staying here for the whole night," Murthy said after waking up from his nap. "I tried working in the evening, but it didn’t work out."
He said after leaving the library to eat, early morning seemed like a better time to study.
It’s Murthy’s first year at UF after moving from Chennai, India, to Florida to pursue his graduate degree.
He said he’s had a good Fall term because he enjoys his program. Plus, Florida’s warm weather is similar to India’s.
Murthy wasn’t staying in Marston on Tuesday morning because he procrastinated. Instead, he said he was working on a spatial analysis project that isn’t due for several days.
Murthy buried himself in his project, consulting colorful maps of Florida’s wildlife density while typing at his computer.
He said he wasn’t motivated to stay in Marston by caffeine but by his desire to get his project done early.
"I’m forcing myself," he said. "I want to complete it."
Valentina Caro, a first-year UF psychology student takes reads a book on the second floor of Library West on July 20, 2015.
