Known most famously for the legendary pastor that stands infront of the building preaching to passerby, the Willard Building is your standard classroom built several decades ago (1949 to be exact), outfitted with the barest minimum in terms of technology and boasting more chalkboard square-footage than almost any other building on campus.
This relatively outdated building is located on the downtown side of Old Main on the west side of campus. Currently under construction, a media center will be housed eventually in one wing of the Willard Building, a generous gift on behalf of Donald P. Bellasario. The estimated time of completion for this new media center is the 2020-2021 academic school year so next year, for those of us coming back (which I hope is all) there may be even more places to study in Willard than I will be able to mention here.
Honestly, it had never occurred to me to study here. The only reason I had stepped foot in this building before was for club meetings and, before I came to Penn State as a college student, when I was presenting for the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. It was only when a friend in my Economics 302 class suggested that we meet up and study here for a test that I ever considered it as a potential spot.
The only places to study in this building are old and outdated classrooms so if you are looking for some modern technology and pretty glass, you have come to the wrong place. Instead there are walls covered with chalkboards and, if you are lucky, pulldown projectors.
My friend comes to Willard often to study. They claim that they prefer the bland environment and find it less distracting and more conducive to studying, indeed something I saw echoed by a fair amount of people when I tagged along to study econ and we were searching for a classroom since most were occupied with diligent students writing long equations on chalkboards.
If you too are someone who finds environments like this beneficial, I would recommend Willard to you. There are enough outlets in a room and enough rooms that you will never be left wanting and likely never need to share a room. however, you have to keep in mind that classes and club meetings are being held sometimes even until 9 so if you are looking for a room before then you might not find one. However, luckily for you, Willard is open late (potentially maybe even all night, I myself cannot say since the latest I have been there was until 1 o’clock in the morning).
I can see the appeal of studying here and I hope by reviewing Willard I have broadened my horizons from the typical areas I usually visit, however I personally do not know if I would be found studying at Willard again unless my friend and I took another econ class we needed to study for together again.
I have only been to Willard for special events because none of my classes have been scheduled there. If there is more chalkboard space than any other building on campus, then writing practice problems on the board won’t be a problem. I don’t think that it’s healthy to stay in any building until 1 AM, but I guess it’s good that it’s open that late. Perhaps when I have a class in Willard I will know what to expect now.
I’ve heard people talk about studying in Willard before, but I enjoyed your review. I have to say that I likely would enjoy the bland study space because there are less things to distract me. I do think that Willard is open all night, but I am not 100% sure, the only time I have studied there was to work on an English project, but the room was pretty quiet and it was pretty easy to find a room.
I have never thought of studying at Willard and I might check it out in the fall. I do think it could be a nice place to meet if you are working on a group project or if you need a white board, because sometimes those are hard to get at the library. I do agree that sometimes a bland study area can be helpful to focus, and a new study spot is always fun to explore. I miss campus, excited to check it out in the fall