Ashley Valentin/Contributing Writer
I’m always sleepy. Like many of you, I spend my nights either Netflixing, partying, video gaming, or studying for that exam I forgot I have on Thursday. I work long hours and make an exhausting commute during traffic hour to get to school, only to spend an annoying amount of time looking for parking in a lot a million miles away from my classes.
By the time I’m done with my first lecture all I want to do is nap. But the search for a good place to nap on campus is the most exhausting part of my day. You can’t just nap anywhere! A good place to nap has to be quiet, not crowded, not too hot or cold, comfortable, and spacious.
Finding a good spot like this is difficult. I’ve spent the past two years trying to map out the best spots in FIU to catch some z’s, and after doing some experimenting and getting opinions from professional sleepers around campus, I’ve finally managed to compile a list of the best places to get some shut eye at MMC.
Probably the most well known nap area is the piano room in the Graham Center. You don’t have to walk far to get here since GC is pretty much right in the middle of everything. This is literally a room full of couches just beckoning your tired little body to rest on its cushiony goodness. If you don’t mind the noise coming from all the students talking in the halls, this is a good place to default to when you need a quick nap.
Also in GC is the Game Room next to Chili’s. There’s not many places to lay your head here, but as long as no one is playing Super Smash Brothers on one of the screens, you can actually have a small room with a couch to yourself. Bring a sweater, though, because the temperature in there is practically below zero.
The study lounge area in AHC3 is another good place to nap.
“It has long couches and it’s usually quiet. And if it’s not, no one’s really in there for long so it doesn’t matter,” says junior Melissa Miranda.
The lounge is a good choice when you need a morning nap; in the evening the lounge becomes a meeting area and naps are difficult to have.
The law building is golden. Hidden all the way on the outskirts of campus lies a nap lover’s paradise.
The law building is quiet and never really that crowded. If you’re looking for a place where you can nap away from the general population, the really comfy couches and swings of the law building are for you.
During the early afternoon most of the typical nap areas get taken over by students prepping for tests, but if you walk to the reception hall the walls are lined with cushioned benches just big enough for you to lie down on.
The library is a good place to nap so long as you’re on the right floor.
“The music rooms on the 5th floor of the library are great!” said senior Juan Erazo. “They’re supposed to be sound isolated, meaning you don’t hear much noise from outside. They’re relatively easy to get since there’s so many of them, and many have a nice view of the campus.”
The most popular area to nap in remains in your own car in one of the garages. The garage of choice? Red garage.
“The temperature is right and the lighting is perfect,” said senior Michael Vulcian.
Fellow pro-napper Gabriel Rodriguez said that between classes she sleeps in the Red Garage because no one can see her or take her belongings.
In a garage you don’t feel watched, and you don’t have to deal with other people’s noise. If you want to fall asleep to the silky sounds of your new One Direction album you totally can without any judgements.
Where do other students like to catch some shut eye?
“My favorite place is for sure the Panther Hall lounge because no one is there during the day and that means you sleep like a Snorlax,” said sophomore Santiago Scort.
Sophomore Jane Rodriguez prefers a very quiet spot. “I like to sleep in my best friend’s dorm where people aren’t in and out.”
Noah Blanco, senior, says, “My spot is the toilet. I can snore as loud as I want inside that cubicle.”
FIU students tend to sleep virtually anywhere. This semester when you need a good rest and don’t know where to go, these are really some of the best spots to try.
Just maybe not the toilet.
