Have you ever wandered to a part of campus and incidentally spent four or more hours there without realizing any time had passed? Me neither. [Self-imposed fact check: this is untrue.] Well, in case there’s no location that instantly pops into your mind when I say “liminal spaces” (slightly creepy, and leaving you with no real concept of time passing), here’s a list of places on campus where my friends and I have experienced some form of unprompted environmental disconnect from the natural world.
The basement level of Stuart Hall, in general. I have to clean these spaces as part of my work and no offense, if I see another living human being wandering around down here, I will flee immediately.
Anywhere in Eby. I am not here often, but when I am, there’s no shortage of liminal spaces. Not featured: the room that they sent me when I got selected for random COVID testing and which I had a very difficult time finding.
Specifically the women’s bathroom in Dows, but probably all bathrooms in Dows. They have weird lighting. They are also unusually chilly, like there’s a draft somewhere. 10/10 turn the lights on before rounding the corner. I haven’t heard of a ghost living in there, but I wouldn’t put it past the Dows bathrooms to be housing one.
The tunnel and the elevator in Peterson Hall. Although I don’t end up in Peterson often, these two spots have made an impression on me, nonetheless. The elevator has an undergoing-construction kind of feeling that when combined with the same chilliness you can find in the Dows bathrooms, is more than a little unsettling. Meanwhile, the tunnel lined with cafe tables always leaves me feeling like if I sat down at one, I might lose track of time and end up sitting there for my remaining two years at college.
The basement of Murray. All the same amenities of AD Lobby and more, but in a basement. And that makes all the difference.
Under the stairs in Voorhees, where some of my floormates and I hung out for a couple of hours playing Go Fish during the derecho. I have considered making a pillow fort there because it’s extremely peaceful and time doesn’t feel real (although this may have been due to the natural disaster occurring outside).
The costume & prop dungeon in the basement of Marquis. I could not get a photo of this elusive spot due to the fact that I do not have keys to it, nor any reason to be there nowadays, but it is by far the most liminal space I ever had the opportunity to visit during my freshman year. Basically, it’s a large room full of individual prison-like cells full of old furniture and props waiting to be pulled out of storage. To have your own chance at visiting the costume or prop dungeon, volunteer to work in the theater department. An experience like this cannot be replicated.
In conclusion, please a) explore further or b) avoid these spaces entirely. It’s all up to you.
NB: This post was created by consultant Rose Birgy, whom Blogger--for some reason--did not recognize, so I copy-pasted her blog post here! JCN
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