Written by Sylvain Chan
Photography by Oliver Chan and Ryan Lee
Are all common rooms made equally? Where do students prefer working and/or hanging out with friends? What do people look for in a working environment? The Beaver aims to find out. We conducted a survey on undergraduate LSE students’ satisfaction with their department’s common room. Here are the results!
Demographic
82 people responded to our Qualtrics survey, with an uneven spread of departments that students are responding from.
It is important to note the small sample size may not be entirely representative of the student population’s perception about their common rooms. As such, this report would be significantly improved with more data — especially with input from the Statistics, Accounting, and Psychology departments. Nonetheless, the insights gained from this survey prove invaluable.
The students overall hold a negative perception of their common rooms, holding a net negative overall satisfaction rate of -60.98. This correlates with the data showing students predominantly only sometimes visit them.
Averaging the frequency to which students visit their department common rooms, we see that Economic History students visit theirs the most (2.6), followed by Law students (2.4), and International History students (2.2).
Why don’t students visit their department’s common room?
48% of participants cited their common room lacking facilities to be the reason why they do not use it. Various additional comments provided by participants cite microwaves, kettles/general hot water access, sinks, functiong power outlets, coffee machines, and closer access to toilets as features they would like to see in their common rooms, but currently lack.
29% of participants cited their common room being uncomfortable and unergonomic to be the reason why they do not use it. Comments supporting this include complaints of the Management common room to be “small”, or the International Relations space being “stuffy”, “cramped” and lacking in sunlight. A concern International History students were especially vocal about was the poor ventilation, stating they frequently dealt with second-hand smoke from people smoking outdoors.
28% of participants cited their common room being structurally poor to be the reason why they do not use it. Again with the International History common room, students cited structural issues, with a wall containing what looks like peeling paint and damp water from water damage.
23% of participants cited their common room being in an obscure location to be the reason why they do not use it. Geography students and Law students are reasonably able to frequent their common rooms as they often have lectures and classes in the Cheng Kin Kiu Building
22% of participants cited having no use for their common room to be the reason why they do not use it. When examining the statistics of where else students work and hang out around campus (as this article will continue to explore), many participants cited the LSE Library or other indoor zones. If there are simply better quality alternatives to their department common rooms, students will use it.
Certain responses in the 34% of people that selected ‘other’, expanded on this by simply stating they didn’t have a common room – an unfortunate reality for Economics and Mathematics students, or being too loud and crowded, which applies to the Finance and Law common rooms.
Why do students frequent their department’s common room?
Despite these negative ratings, there is still a significant proportion of students that do frequent their common rooms. So, what attracts students to these spaces?
Though many have voiced complaints with the International History common room’s ‘dilapidated’ structure, one participant stated they continue to visit it “because it is a space my friends and I can mee that is usually free”, as “campus has little working space that is comfortable and can double as a place to meet because it fills up too fast”.
From visiting the different common rooms with photographer Oliver Chan, we were able to compare and contrast the different spaces much more easily. From observation, the International History common room was definitely one of the most packed and bustling, at least relative to how much seating there is.
This points to the importance of having actually comfortable spaces for students. There is a need for more welcoming common areas for students to mingle and work in. Take the Law common room for example: with murals spanning its accent wall, various tables and sofas for students to work at, a kitchenette providing hot water, large windows letting in natural lighting… It’s undeniably one of the best decorated and furnished common rooms – perhaps to an unfair extent – and why so many non-Law students “infiltrate it”, as one Law student describes it.
So, where do students work hard and play hard across campus beyond their common rooms then?
Our findings overall show that the LSE Library is the most popular spot for working and hanging out with friends. Though the LSE Library isn’t exactly known for being the most quiet space on campus, the building makes up for it by having designated silent work areas for those trying to cram that last-minute summative.
Indoor common spaces such as the Centre Building lobby, upper floors of the Marshall Building, and the Media Centre, prove popular for both elements as well. There’s a comforting ambience in their slight business making them a spot that incentivises work. And they’re great areas to mull about in-between lectures with coursemates.
Cafes nearby or on campus, from our Student Union building’s Dennings Cafe, to further away locations like 9 Bars or Blank Street, prove to be prime hang out areas. There’s evidently nothing better than catching up with friends over a matcha flavour you’ve been meaning to try out.
And as London attempts to adorn Summer weather, outdoor areas such as Lincoln’s Inn Fields and pubs like George IV should become more popular hangout spots. It’s integral that LSE has spaces like these that are detached from work for the betterment of students’ health.
What do students prioritise in a common room?
To better understand what precisely attracts and dismays students from using their common room, students were asked to rank the importance of the following elements: comfort, aesthetics, zoning, facilities, and activities.
These averaged rankings generally correspond with the overall data and additional comments participants provided.
Comfort proved to be most essential. With the Geography common room, one student stated it was virtually no different to a “classroom” or its past condition in the St. Clements Building, due to its limited size and lack of access to fresh air, with another similarly arguing, “seeing as LSE is sandwiched between Oxford and Cambridge for Geography, we deserve better!”. And though the Sociology common room has plentiful, gorgeous new furniture, aesthetics can only do so much if “the chairs (…) are so uncomfortable” to sit in. Ergonomics undeniably makes or breaks a space’s appeal.
Facilities are also just as integral; it’s simply not enough for common rooms just to have tables and chairs. Many voiced their desire to have microwaves and more readily accessible hot water sources, as it strongly benefits students that bring food in from home. However, maintaining good upkeep with these facilities is essential. An International History student stated that because their common room did not have a microwave, they had to resort to using one on the Sadrinia Building’s upper floors that is “genuinely disgusting and I don’t think it has been cleaned in a year”. One Government student described their department’s common room as a “disaster” due to the fridge being mouldy, the absence of cleaning equipment for students to use, and the lack of cutlery or cups as well.
Aesthetics are also an important feature students seek. A room has to feel nice to be in, which can be elevated by more natural lighting and decorations. The Anthropology common room feels lived in and inviting, from the balloons to its full bulletin board. One student very plainly put the Economic History common room was “very ugly”, likely due to the uninspiring white, overhead lighting.
Though zoning did not seem to be as important for many students, it is still an element worth consideration. One student argued for distinguished spaces in the Government common room between work areas and student areas (like kitchenettes), likely due to noise and the strong scent of food that Oliver picked up on as we entered it.
Students paid activities the least mind. While the provision of snacks was of interest to some, especially in lieu of the Management common room providing free pizza weekly, this was the extent to people’s desire for having more activities hosted in their common room to incentivise its usage. In fact, one Law student said it was “annoying when they shut it (the Law common room) to hold events”. It appears students would prefer to have control over how they claim and utilise common spaces.
Conclusion
One student noted in the survey, “I wonder if there is a correlation between common room quality and the amount of private sector employment that could result from that department…”.
This is a valid sentiment especially when comparing the decorated Law common room to the likes of ‘dingy’ Philosophy one. The spaces can appear as a reflection of how much or little funding certain departments get in comparison to others, highlighting an employment/reputational bias the LSE may have. Speaking stereotypically, this is not necessarily true considering the recent refurbishments and location moves the Sociology and Anthropology common rooms have had.
Nonetheless, the main takeaway to this research should be that students deserve more quiet, safe spaces across campus to work in, with readily accessible facilities —without having the need to line up at the microwaves in the Student Union building— regardless of department. It would be great to see improvements across these common rooms so they can all be on equal footing.
