The Zen Den, formerly the Commuter Lounge, is a private quiet space for students to work and relax in a peaceful environment. As an active visitor to the Zen Den, there are a couple of pros and cons that I wish to share.
One of the pros is that the Zen Den offers plenty of seats for students. When joining for the first time, students have the option of six different seats, two bean bags, and four chairs. This offers plenty of space for students considering the room’s small size.
Another pro is that the Zen Den includes LED lights that are hung around every wall. Normally, the lights are enabled during the later hours of the day, but students can use a remote that controls the lights. The LEDs add to the peaceful atmosphere with their soft color palette, which is a great feature.
One last pro is that every student has a time limit for each Zen Den session. While this might seem like a con on the surface, having the same students take up space for several hours could be irritating for others. Each student is entitled to one hour in the Zen Den each day, which is a perfect amount of time for students to decompress while also not taking away from others.
As for the cons, the most notable one would be the lack of soundproofing. Since the Zen Den is located next to the Fitness Center, people who visit during the day will always hear squeaky machinery and loud grunting between the walls. This is extremely concerning, as this issue disturbs the peace that the Zen Den is made for. I highly recommend that the school invests in soundproof walls to drown out the sound.
Another con is that activities provided by the Zen Den are very limited. The only real source of entertainment outside of sleeping is coloring books, which are fine, but there are only about three of them. I think it would be a great idea if the school invested in a bookshelf with novels, comics, and extra coloring book collections. With a bookshelf in place, there would be more sources of entertainment for the masses.
One final con would be the lack of decorations outside of the Zen Den. Having an eye-catching appearance from the outside would get peoples’ heads turning, but the Zen Den does not have that. I feel like a lot of people do not realize that the room exists because the only decoration that it has is a small arrow pointing toward the room (which is located at a serious blind spot, might I add). The Zen Den is a nice place that more people should know about, so investing in some extra decorations or a student mural would be great for drawing more attention.
Overall, I really like the Zen Den and what it provides. If the people running the area fix the small issues that it has, the Zen Den would be a perfect place to stay at after a long day of school. The Zen Den is currently located on the first floor of the Student Center Atrium, left to the Fitness Center.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Thomas Szot tszot@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
Comentários