It’s 2 a.m. on Thursday morning and you realize you forgot Friday’s homework – that pesky essay comparing Marxist ideals to mid-20th century American poets.
The library just closed and with your roommate’s thirsty Thursday celebration still rocking your apartment, you need to get the work done.
Where to go: the new Technology Education Collaboration Help Center is open 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, but not on Saturdays and Sundays, so there’s no reason to panic or kill the party.
Located at 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue, members of the Temple community began to explore the new TECH Center during the opening week of this semester. Many students were impressed with its technology and style.
“I like the computer labs, the up-to-date technology and the modern look and feel of it,” said second-year business major Baati Ayana. “It’s a better place to study than the library if you want to catch up on work or do leisure reading.”
Bethany McKenney, a fourth-year film major, said, “I prefer the TECH Center over the library because the technology is so much better and more user friendly, and plus you can eat in here in certain areas.” McKenney added that she had been to the TECH Center three times already in the past two days.
The second floor of the TECH Center has drawn the largest number of people to the building, with most people gathering in the central general lab areas. General lab areas cover the second floor, filling a large portion of the 75,000-square-foot TECH Center. The center holds more than 500 PC workstations and more than 100 Mac workstations.
Even with a large number of students in the TECH Center general labs, finding an open work station is as easy as stealing candy from a baby – unless you’re Mr. Burns, then you might have some trouble.
The music lab and lounge areas are also student magnets. With large crowds, the volume inside is not overwhelming and can be easily tuned out for studying.
Cell phones are permitted throughout the TECH Center, except in the quiet room, where no cell phones or speaking is allowed. The best places to study are the general labs breaking off of “The Avenue,” which is the main walkway on the second floor.
Students needing to do group studying should go directly to the breakout rooms. The 13 rooms each include flat panel wall displays and a computer setup to help with any group needs. The rooms must be reserved in person.
The video editing lab was nearly empty at times during the first week of the semester, and, with plenty of barriers blocking the view from the window, this is the spot if you need a break to rendezvous with a friend.
If it’s past 2 a.m. or in the middle of the afternoon and you need a caffeine boost, don’t expect to get any of that delicious Starbucks coffee just yet. That portion of the TECH Center is coming soon.
“The Starbucks should open sometime in late February,” said Claudia Gomez, a senior anthropology major and lab consultant.
Lab consultants are stationed in lab areas ready to help students and faculty in need of assistance.
For more information, call the help desk at 215-204-8000, or visit the TECH Center Web site at techcenter.temple.edu.
Alex Yalch can be reached at yalcha@temple.edu.
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