After a long day of regular lectures, a student should find a nice place to unwind, and to pull off stress (Lan, 34). The place should offer comfort, so as to enable the student to easily reflect on the days’ lectures. At the same time, the student should be able to interact with other students and nature (Kator, 23). Student centers on campus, therefore, need to be welcoming so as to offer guests the desired comfort. Though most students centers that exist at present are far from achieving all of this, the present student’s centers that exist, still remain the best spots for students’ relaxation.
World over more and more campuses are realizing the need for students centers(Mark,12).In Africa in a little city called Makurdi, two universities stand a kilometer wide over the Benue. The Benue is a beautiful river with two bridges over it; one a metal, the other made of concrete. The bank of River Benue has been groomed to provide a perfect meeting point for students of both institutions.
When driving from Livingston, to cook amidst students, a trip which ordinarily would have seemed endless ends in seconds. The smiles of the gates of cook can free a guest of intense stress in seconds. Often times a new visitor needs extra courage to comb the inquisitive eyes of the students. Finding one’s way around cook is as easy as eating bananas. One needs no hard bone to chew in finding his or her way around the neatly and properly arranged seating that adorns the entrance and spread the length of the sitting expanse. What is hard to explain is why others choose to stand in the center of the walkways, even when sits are not in short supply. There seems to be abnormal excitement in the air when people are gathered at centers such as cook. There is this feeling of relief that graces the atmosphere.
Setting one foot on the sands of College Avenue after a peaceful ride from the cook, Sights of beautiful buildings, glamouring with relaxation facilities are seen. Youths laughing and shaking hands, standing beside empty sits. Observing the environment briefly some students are seen in pairs, talking in hush tones (Joshua, 45). This set of students look calm compared to those standing and walking around. These are suspected to be lovers spending some time out. The signs of emotions can be well-read on their faces. Little or no signs of academic discussion are observed to be going on within the environment. The centers in cook and college Avenue are better than those found in Makurdi in Africa, in that cook and College Avenue has well-organized sitting arrangements, nice walkways, and a properly air-conditioned restaurant. In Africa, it is usual to find a cockroach staring at a student and waggling its antennal in the air with full strength. In Livingston, cook, and College Avenue the air is fresh, the faces bright, reflecting the feeling of satisfaction from the patrons. The planners of these centers surely had an idea of what a student center should be. But the students tend to put it too little of that which it was designed to achieve (Mark, 19). It is often very common to see youths behaving abnormally in places with little or no restrictions. Planners subsequently should do more in the spacing of the sitting area, so as to reduce the congestions that are common on very busy days (Mark, 56). One’s expectation is met in all students’ centers, but improvements in the areas mentioned will go a long way in improving the life and comfort that is obtainable in students’ centers.
Works cited
Joshua, Daniel. Life in the creeks, Cape Town: Alpha, 1996.
Kator, Ana. Growing on the street, Abuja: cornerstone, 2002.
Mark, Aaron. Living in bondage, Makurdi: Aboki, 1995
Tom, Lyn. Life in urban areas, Nairobi: Shank, 2002.