The Underground at UTSC

From Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil, study spots on campus all radiate their own energy. This list is, of course, subjective. (Please don’t sue us if we’ve left your favourite study spot out).

Photo by: Arthur Hamdani // THE UNDERGROUND

Alignment charts were originally used to categorise characters in Dungeons and Dragons. The internet has since used the chart to classify just about anything. Food, shows, celebrities and everything in between can be conveniently tucked into little squares, gauging how lawful, chaotic, good or evil they are. What is the meaning of lawful vs. chaotic or good vs. evil, you may ask? That is a very good question, to which I hardly have the answer. I have randomly come across the chart online so many times that this article is based purely on what feels right (vibes, I suppose). In keeping with the spirit of internet madness, here is a classification of UTSC’s study spots.

Lawful Good: Library

A classic. This is where you actually get work done. Studying, revision, assignments, catching up—you name it. The silence can either help you focus or be convenient to listen to your favourite work (think lo-fi) playlist. Hopefully, being surrounded by so much knowledge helps, especially since the books are more visible since the renovations. If you’re responsible enough to book a study room ahead of time, even better.

Lawful Neutral: MW

There are not that many spots in MW, but they’re nice overall. There’s the option of chairs with tables or just armchairs. Some of them have nice views too, though it might get boring to stare out into the parking lot.

Lawful Evil: That One HL Study Floor

Something evil is brewing there. You walk in and you can feel the atmosphere physically weighing you down. Your fight-or-flight response activates. Unlike the library’s silence, this one has weight. Emitting any sound can and will get you killed. With every step you take, you feel like you’re stomping because of how loud you feel. Even the sound of your breathing makes you self-conscious. Proceed with caution. Can you really study amid all that tension?

Neutral Good: HW desks

The desks there are somehow more comfortable than their SW counterparts (probably because anything beyond SW feels weirdly liminal). If you’re too close to the Marketplace, it might be a bit loud. Since the desks come in threes, there is an unspoken rule to leave the middle desk empty, like at the urinals in men’s washrooms. If you get desperate enough to disregard that rule, you will probably not be called out or anything. The desks are wide enough and people tend to keep to themselves.

True Neutral: A Random Empty Classroom

Technically, it’s not NOT allowed if the classroom is free for a certain time slot. Being alone (or with your friends) in an empty classroom can be fun. It can also be a bit weird to see all the empty seats and feel like someone should be teaching and that you should be taking notes. Be ready to leave quickly when someone walks in for their class and you go “Oh, do you have a class here?” Hope that it’s a student who’s the first one in, and not the professor, because that’s generally slightly less awkward.

Neutral Evil: Random Clusters of Desks in AC

There’s one of those next to the entrance of AC and the placement just feels...awkward. Sure, there’s space, so it might as well be used for desks. It still feels off though? Too close to the door, maybe. Next to a hallway. Close to Academic Advising. Close to the library too, so why would you choose to work there instead? (The answer is always the lack of space). If you’re at one of the two desks upstairs facing the Centre for Teaching and Learning…how? They’re really easy to miss, with how they’re tucked into a weird corner that’s not really a corner. P.S. Does anyone remember when the Meeting Place had similar desks?

Chaotic Good: 4th Floor BV

The place is always loud and securing spots for you and your friends is always an extreme sport. Let’s get this straight: you won’t get any work done there. You will, however, probably overhear a couple things or two that will keep you entertained for the rest of the day.

Chaotic Neutral: Student Centre Desks

Another perpetually loud place, only this time the noise is coming from downstairs. So is the smell. It will always smell like food, so two of your senses are already hijacked. Add in the constant movement that will be happening around you from people going to Health and Wellness, and you got a recipe for a not-so-ideal study session.

Chaotic Evil: Tims

Now, why would you even study here.

Super Chaotic Evil: Random Lecture

Entering a lecture you’re not a part of and studying there, using the lecture as white noise. That’s just clinically insane.

Study Spots Alignment Chart

From Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil, study spots on campus all radiate their own energy. This list is, of course, subjective. (Please don’t sue us if we’ve left your favourite study spot out).

Problem After Problem

SO LOUD!