By Nicholas Giancola ’12
The Roundup

On an ordinary morning, a Brophy student can walk into the Information Commons with plans to finish up some homework from last night.

He arrives at 7:20; but, after 10 minutes, the library is already bustling. His peers are cracking jokes, listening to techno music and playing online games.

Is this an environment conducive to his academic success?

I found myself in this situation a few weeks ago, and thought about why the Information Commons remains this way.

Is a library not supposed to be quiet?

“We do not demand total silence, but quiet conversation is allowed,” said Director of the Information Commons Mrs. Jennie Oleksak. She elaborated saying, “We also requires headphones if there is sound coming out of the Tablets.” Yet, Brophy students break these rules, resulting in a noisy and disturbing environment.

If the library cannot be a reliable place to study, then what should students do?

For now, if students seek a quiet, academic-focused atmosphere, they may go into the “office area” in the Information Commons, and if they genuinely need a quiet area, they can ask to use a study room.

However, Mrs. Oleksak and her counterpart, Mrs. Leslie Hanson, are understandably careful to offer opportunities to use a study room “because sometimes it turns into a social room,” Mrs. Oleksak said.

All in all, she and I both agree there should be an isolated area in the library where, “if you are in there, you are in there to study, and it’s quiet.”

A place on Brophy’s campus where there is a calm place to study is indubitably necessary for the good of its students.

The increasing busyness of the average student due to extracurricular activities, test preparation and social events can pose a challenge for students to finish their homework; Brophy should help cater to the student and provide an environment that encourages working on assignments.

Nevertheless, it is not solely the librarians’ or the administration’s responsibility for the library to be quiet, it is also ours’, the students’. Mrs. Oleksak and Mrs. Hanson cannot and should not have to continually police everyone. If you want to socialize you can go to the Student Activity Center, the Great Hall, or the David Brown Mall.

We must respect and desire success for one another, which we can do through simply acting like we are in a library when we are in the library.