siuDE.com

A huge plastic bag sagged over my head.

It hovered three or four feet to my north, with dust its only inhabitant. I wondered why it was there. Probably to catch bricks.

There is one bathroom. And in that bathroom, there is but one working stall. And in that stall, there is no ceiling. It's almost like Big Brother is watching you do your dirty business.

The clamorous ambience is constant and would clash with a rock concert.

In the past few weeks, this area has seen more of me than my apartment. It isn't a condemned building.

This area is the Morris Library.

Since I've been at this fantastic place called SIUC, such nuisances have epitomized Morris Library. Granted, library officials said three more floors would open after spring break, a much-welcomed addition to students who care about their grades, or, in my case, are trying to graduate.

And don't get me wrong - having a blemished and incomplete library is better than not having one at all. They could have just shut down the whole library during renovations and forced students to cut their losses. Someone has to take the hit while our facilities are being updated and renovated.

But the more I think about it, the more it stinks. Visiting other campuses, I've seen some nice rigs. Those places boast serene settings, plush chairs and ample resources. Morris has few books, many disturbances and little breathing room.

Plus, those places don't have makeshift plastic nets to catch falling debris, or whatever that thing is for.

It's a shame this generation of students never had a real library. For at least the past five semesters, Morris Library has been nothing more than a glorified basement with nice computers. (Not to knock on basements, because most basements don't house drooping ceiling tiles with jackhammers humming away in the background.)

The conditions aren't favorable for academia. And in the long run, that has an effect. With a real library, maybe that C could have been a B. Maybe that 3.2 could be a 4.0. Maybe I could become president.

Maybe, we'll all find out if and when the library finally moves students out of the tattered rat hole we're currently studying in.

Or, maybe more delays will push the opening of those floors back another couple semesters and keep us in that raggedy place. If so, that's fine by me.

After all, the adverse environment and construction racket has become soothing to me. It's like a study aide.

You listen to classical music when you study. I rock out to heavy machinery and construction crews pounding away (literally) feet away from me.

And that bag above my head reminds me that life is short and keeps me on task.

Wilson is a senior studying journalism.

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