It’s mid-afternoon on the seventh floor of Vernon R. Alden Library, and people are screaming and running through the stacks. It’s not an emergency or a couple of drunk frat guys who accidentally stumbled upon the library, but instead a group of six to seven middle school boys.
After four years of studying in Alden Library, I have learned that when the clock hits 2:30 p.m. on a weekday, my time is running out, because by 3 p.m., my favorite study spot will be infested by middle schoolers.
I feel for them, I really do. Assuming the average age of this group is 12, they would have been six years old during the peak of COVID-19. During this critical time of development, they were separated from their peers and glued to a laptop, all while being stuck inside.
I’m happy these kids are playing with each other instead of spending their after-school hours buried in screens, but I question if it has to be at the expense of my sanity.
The first time it happened, I remember thinking, “Gosh, am I really getting that old where I’m annoyed by younger generations?” Apart from the panic-inducing phenomena of hearing frantic running on a college campus, I thought, it’s also just plain disrespectful to people’s space.
My next thought was that there must be another place in Athens for them to go, but as a freshman, I knew less about the city than I do now.
I was fortunate enough to attend a middle school with the public library across the street. After the last bell rang, dozens of us would pour into the building. It was a haven for us because it was meant for us. Certainly, we annoyed the regulars and locals with our antics, but that was expected in a public space.
In a space dedicated to academia, like a college library, there are different expectations and different social norms, as well as a higher expectation that visitors follow these norms. When middle schoolers run through the halls of quiet areas, they are violating the rules and regulations designed for the space.
However, Athens’ students don’t have access to the same public spaces I grew up having.
To get from Athens Middle School — where I can only assume they come from — to Alden Library, it is a leisurely 0.6-mile walk (thank you, Google Maps).
In comparison, the closest, indoor, non-college-centric public space is the Athens Public Library, which is over twice the walking distance, 1.3 miles to be exact, and is located outside the confines of Uptown Athens. The Community Center is even farther with a 1.8-mile walk.
The other option is Athens Public Transit, which is notoriously inconsistent and hard to use. If the average college student struggles to navigate the Passio Go! app, I can’t imagine a middle schooler relying on that app only to get stranded in The Plains.
According to the World Playground Research Institute, children are spending less time outside of their homes due to “parental safety concerns” and “play deserts,” areas that lack well-maintained public playgrounds. Even when they do go outside, there is an inherent lack of spaces for them to go.
Uptown Athens is chock full of coffee stops, bars and shops, but there is no space designated for public activity that doesn’t require a financial exchange or being college-aged. It makes sense that instead of these spaces, middle schoolers gravitate toward Alden when the weather is cool.
It’s Athens' responsibility to take care of its students, but it feels as if they favor the college-aged ones. Something as simple as a small center Uptown, or connected to the Middle School, could be the solution to this issue.
Creating a place for middle schoolers to be annoying that isn’t the seventh floor of Alden Library will benefit many students, middle school and college alike.
The Pest is an anonymous column for writers to air their grievances about Ohio University, Athens and society at large. Want to share your thoughts? Email the Editor in Chief at editor@thepostathens.com
