As a proud resident of Atherton Hall (and since it is #confirmed to be better than Simmons Hall), it is only right that I talk about some of the study areas it hosts.
The entrance to Atherton Hall forms one of the main images people see when talking about the Honors College (besides the medal its students receive at graduation). Located at the end of the HUB lawn, separate from any other residence halls, it is truly a unique building due to its architecture and its layout inside.
Starting in the basement, there is a large room with couches and numerous tables off of the laundry room, however at the end of the day and on weekends it gets pretty packed and rowdy. There are a couple other rooms in the basement however which have tables and desks and outlets and remain relatively subdued at all times that provide other options for people camping out and doing work waiting for their laundry to be done. However the rooms in the basement are sparse and shabby-looking so if you prefer to be surrounded by serene beauty when you study I would not recommend these areas.
Moving up a floor, the ground floor has two private study rooms with a TV and a table that can be reserves, and then several bar-stool tables and some couches scattered around the rest of the floor by the offices. these areas (besides the private rooms, of course) get a fair amount of foot traffic so these make to be more social studying areas, not ones where people can truly grind.
Onto my favorite floor, the first floor. Here by the entrance are two tables people, again, can social study at but this floor also offered two unique rooms on it. One room is called the Grandfather Clock Lounge (named because it has a grandfather clock in it) and it hosts 3-4 large square tables, two areas of couches, and a baby grand piano. This lounge is where most clubs associated with Schreyer hold their meetings so you have to be wary about using it from 6-8 on certain days for fear of interrupting a meeting. However, across the floor from the GFC is the pride and joy of Atherton, the Zombie Lounge.
The Zombie Lounge is a quiet study area full of tables, appearing as if it was taken out of Harry Potter or somewhere with the brick fireplace and lamps lighting every table. It is PACKED full of tables and therefore provides the most study area in all of Atherton. During the day this lounge is fairly empty, however at around 6 o’clock at night and beyond this lounge if flooded with students, reaching usually up to around 3/4 of its capacity. Even with this many students, the lounge truly stays silent. And, I can vouch for it, so many students come and do their work in here because it is easy to get it done. The Zombie Lounge mixes just the right amount of interesting and boring to keep you wanting to be there (because it is pretty) but also focused on your task (because it isn’t THAT pretty). There are outlets at every table for people to plug their electronics into and the people in the lounge don’t mind sitting elbow to elbow with others because they understand everyone is in their to grind on homework and is not trying to disturb anyone else.
I have been finding myself in the Zombie Lounge quite frequently these past couple of weeks. It is the ideal place for my to study late at night since I don’t even have to leave the comfort of my dorm and brave the cold and dark weather. I highly recommend it to anyone else living in Atherton or even near it, however it is probably unrealistic spot for anyone else since Atherton is so far out of the way from the other dorm buildings.