Abbeygael KuchmakI have been the witness to many laptop deaths in the Tory Building. It’s no wonder, when the desks are small and so densely packed into the classrooms that you can barely move. At least not without hitting someone else’s desk — or an actual person. Because of this, Tory is the bane of my (and many others’) existence.
The desks are barely big enough to fit a laptop or a notebook. Either they’re long and narrow or short and wide — but they’re never the right size. Your laptop being stable on the desk is unlikely. If you want to have your textbook open while taking notes, good luck to you. You’ll probably spend the whole class shuffling your notes and books around, and miss what the professor is saying.
Not to mention, the university seems to be designing the seats for junior-high students, not fully-grown adults. If you’ve grown in any capacity since puberty, you’re going to be quite uncomfortable. With how tightly the university packs desks together, you’re also going to be elbowing the person next to you. And where are you supposed to put your bag and winter coat? I’m still trying to figure that one out.
Sitting in these desks isn’t the only thing that’ll cause you pain. Trying to enter or leave the classroom is worse. If you like sitting at the back of Tory classrooms, I commend you, because it takes some serious effort to get back there. It seems like the university’s objective was to fit as many tiny desks into a classroom as possible. Unfortunately, they were successful.
Once you sit down, you’ll have to clutch your laptop every time someone walks by to save it from being knocked-off the desk. And yes, accidentally getting an elbow to the face or being hit by someone’s bag isn’t outside the realm of possibilities. I’m starting to think anyone who regularly has classes in Tory deserves a medal for surviving.
You can imagine my surprise when I saw the desks in the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA) for the first time. You can fit your laptop, books, and a coffee on those desks without worrying about them falling off. Why are students in Tory doing a balancing act with their things while students in ECHA could set up an entire office if they chose to?
Contrary to what the university might think, students don’t magically shrink when they enter Tory. We need bigger and better desks. Otherwise, I’m going to get suspicious that the university has a vendetta against student laptops.
