I work in the Student Union Breezeway and one nuisance that has been extremely prominent this semester are students sitting on the steps that lead to some of the upstairs offices such as Student Engagement, Campus Activities Board and Multicultural and Student Affairs. 

Now, I know that everyone has the right to sit where they please, but the issue arises for the students and staff that need to either go up the stairs or down the stairs. Because one or more people are sitting on the stairs, everyone is funneled to one side of the staircase and that makes for a tight squeeze when everyone seems to be running to SGA to get the free coffee between the end of 8 a.m. classes and before the start of 9:30 classes. 

Even if the Student Union Breezeway is not that crowded, I see the disgruntled faces of students when they have to switch the sides of the stairs they are about to use. 

The most common answer students give when asked why they are sitting on the stairs is, “I was just trying to find a place to sit in the shade.” 

Now, this makes sense. Over the last year, the trees near the bookstore have been cut down, the gazebo near the art department has been removed and the majority of benches that the campus has added have been in direct sunlight. 

Living in south Louisiana, this is an issue. The shade is one of the only ways to cool down when outside. Yes, a few benches are in the shade outside the Union, but they’re not much help when it starts to rain and there are only a few places available outside of Starbucks, so not every student can sit there. The little bit of shade over the bench by the art department is where I’ve seen more bees than I would want to see at my time at Southeastern and again is where the issue of rain arises. 

The other argument I’ve heard is to just go inside a building. Well, again, we live in south Louisiana and we do like our air conditioning on full blast during the hot days. I, for one, get extremely cold extremely fast. There have been days that I’ve gone outside and taken a break from studying to just warm up. I’ve stood outside for 15 minutes before, in a sweatshirt, and was still cold when I went back inside. 

I know that benches cost a good bit of money and with the condition of our state’s economy, funds are tight all around. But, I believe that we should have a shady place on campus to sit. Also, though it may be a tad more expensive, some areas on campus would look more beautiful by the simple placement of a few gazebos here and there for students. 

Yes, I know some students will still sit on the steps outside of the Student Union Breezeway. But, at least if we have places to sit in the shade, we can point them in a direction to go instead. Or, simply put some benches in the breezeway and not just on the outskirts where the sun is harsh at high noon and you have to flee from a sudden rain shower when it comes out of nowhere.