Room 502 on the fifth floor of Milstein—you’re welcome.

I’ve always thought it odd that every floor of Milstein is The Quiet Floor. The Barnard library website clearly describes a tiered volume system, but the social atmosphere of this university has somehow imposed a strict no-talking system. I mean, so much as a peep in Milstein is tantamount to being outed as a communist during the Red Scare. I even heard that if they catch you talking in Milstein, you have to pay a $200 noise pollution fine. My friend accidentally coughed once and they increased her tuition by 4%. 

You get the point—there’s nowhere in Milstein to sit and study with your friends. Study rooms are often booked days in advance, which is a frustrating deterrent to the concept of making impromptu decisions and not planning everything out months in advance. And how about us students who can only study in noisy environments? But the group collaboration rooms of Butler or the Business and Economics Library are too vast and cold. They’re so loud and expansive that you somehow feel that much smaller and lonelier. If only Barnard had a non-bookable group collaboration space that actually felt enjoyable to be in. Luckily, it does. 

The Salmasi CS/Math Collaboration Space (Room 502) is a fairly large room on the fifth floor of Milstein. At first glance, you might think that it’s only reserved for people studying math or computer science, but it’s not. Nobody checks when you walk in the door—why would they? It’s a library! Room 502 does host math and CS open tutoring hours, but they’re only a few hours each day and usually don’t attract that many people. Every time I’ve visited this room it’s been half-full at most. (Maybe this shouldn’t be public information…you’re welcome.) 

This room has many perks. Huge white tables, plentiful USB ports, whiteboards, couches, and green chairs. The inward-facing layout of the seats and tables contributes to the warm, welcoming atmosphere of the room. Large windows bring in natural light and give way to a gorgeous view on both sides. 

But my favorite part of studying in this room? Not being a CS major. When tutoring hours are held, you can hear people audibly stressing over their problem sets or midterms. But why would you be stressed? You’re not even taking a single c*mputer sc*ence class! Nothing is more reassuring than working on literally anything in Room 502 and knowing that no matter how stressed you are, at least you don’t have whatever problem set these CS kids are commiserating over. If you do happen to be a c*mputer sc*ence student, then I’m sure you can find a sense of community in the wallowing Data Structures or AP students that gather here. All in all, the CS/Math Collaboration Space offers something for everyone!

Room 502 via Staff Writer Emma Burris