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An underground world on top
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The sixth floor – to some it’s the
closest thing to home on campus, while others have no idea such a place
exists. To elaborate, this infamous sixth floor refers to the top floor
of the Smallwood Centre where many clubs, societies and centres are located.
Why is it that some people naturally gravitate to such an environment,
while others study here at Memorial for four or five years and never even
know it exists?
As a frequenter of this hodgepodge of old couches, slow computers and
friendly faces, I am a little biased in citing the benefits of such a
place. It is my safe haven and, as someone who thrives on the familiar,
this provides the recommended daily dosage. There is something nice about
having your own space on campus where you can drop your coat, microwave
something without having to wait in a long lineup and waste some time
before your next class. Well, okay, maybe a six-foot by six-foot room
you share with 20 others isn’t exactly your own space, but you catch
my drift.
On the sixth floor it can sometimes seem like an episode of Cheers:
“Where everybody knows your name.” It wasn’t always this
way though, at first it was daunting. That first day I climbed the stairs,
Fruitopia in hand, to find the room that all my fellow society members
had been speaking of. This was the beginning of January and after spending
meetings and a few mixers with these folk I decided it was time to take
my involvement to the next level. Yes, I was to become a room rat.
Since that fated decision I have clocked close to a hundred hours in that
room … wait now, that’s a lot of time!
Now to an outsider this may seem excessive. One might ask what one occupies
oneself with on this sixth floor. This is the type of question that garners
many responses. Recent occupations include; colouring flags to go along
with all the countries in the United Nations, trading valentines, researching
the most popular names in America … actually it is somewhat of a
time warp back into the elementary school days. Yet there are also times
when debates break out over the war in Iraq, whether Tiger Woods had an
unfair advantage as a child and, yes, even talks over how MUNSU has screwed
up this week.
It is not just from nine to five that people can be found on the sixth
floor. In the evenings, these rooms provide a quiet study space for society
members, especially during finals when the silent study room at the QE
II fills up. They also provide a quick and easy place to hold meetings
and discuss society-related events. If fact, there are even urban legends
of people living on the sixth floor until their apartment becomes available
at the beginning of the term.
The sixth floor is not only a place to get to know your own society members
better but also a place to learn more about other societies and meet different
people. It’s kind of like the clubs and societies fair, minus the
poster boards and pamphlets. Not only do you meet new people but you also
get to share information on the effective running of a club, society or
centre. The most recent sharing going on has been dealing with tips on
how to run an effective bake sale.
If anyone is curious about life on the sixth floor, I recommend you just
come on up. Wander around, there’s sure to be someone introduce themselves
to you. The campus may be covered in clubs, societies and centres’
posters but to see what’s it’s really like beyond the slogans
hop on the elevator and push six, or for those who are exercise inclined
take the stairs.
The sixth floor has become my niche. For some people it’s the third
floor of the library, the tunnel between the UC and library, or the food
court. For me it’s the sixth floor. While it is true that in university
you break away from the cliques and the in-crowds dominating high schools,
people naturally want to distinguish themselves into groups. The sixth
floor facilitates this.
As someone who always wanted to join a sorority, I can safely say that
a society is the next best thing. At the beginning of every semester I’ll
definitely be signing the ratification forms in order to keep a society
room. So there you have it – an underground world going on up above
you.
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