By Krista Wiberg.
Freshman year was the first time I entered Bartlett. It was 2009, on a hot September morning, and I was headed to my first Journalism course on the second floor. I went up the awkwardly steep steps and took a seat in the farthest right row, under the clock, its white face looming out of sight above me. I began to sweat in the uncomfortably warm temperature, sticking to the seat, impatiently listening to my first ever lecture by the most intimidating professor. The building itself did not seem to be the issue at this point in time, rather my freshmen anxiety. I blamed all of my discomforts on that alone. Little did I know, this was just an average morning in Bartlett, with all of its fabulous quirks in tow.
There are 317 major buildings at the University of Massachusetts. Some are rather large, some are small, some quaint, some quirky. Most majors here get the full experience of the wide range of classrooms and lecture halls, walking different places to go to their next class, seeing different things as they migrate, interacting will all types of people. If you are an English major, once the Gen Eds have been completed and the awkward ventures to Hasbrouck have come to an end, you will see the inside of one building and one building alone. Bartlett Hall.
For example, I am taking four classes this semester. Three are on the third floor of Bartlett. Two of those are in the same classroom. So, it is really no surprise that I have accumulated a lot of time and memories here. Despite its weird layout and confusing twists and turns (which are not helped by my complete lack of directional intuition) I know Bartlett like the back of my hand.
Bartlett has some common features throughout its four-ish levels (there are only three classroom floors but the office floors continue to extend upward in the other wing of the building). The most prevalent is the lack of temperature control. No matter where you go in the building, no matter what season, you will continually be either uncomfortably hot or freezing. It could be a beautiful fall day outside, perhaps a nice breeze is accompanying you to class, but the second you enter the doors of Bartlett, it is the middle of July. Everyone around you is awkwardly fanning themselves, perspiration is collecting on every brow, and the poor professor usually has noticeable pit-stains on their nice dress shirt.
On the other hand, in the dead of winter, you should be prepared to keep your jacket on. I once had a final exam in a room that had a broken window. We all sat and scribbled essays while a winter breeze traveled through the desks.
The classrooms of Bartlett also have charming similarities across the board. Paper thin walls separate each room. If you sit in the back, you will hear the professor in the next room over scratching away on the chalkboard. There are usually about five desks too many in every room, which must be rearranged before every class in order for the room to be semi-functional. English majors typically have trouble with the shape of a circle, leading to many misplaced and awkwardly situated people in desks. This causes significant traffic jams when trying to enter the classroom though a door poorly placed in the back of the room. If you are concerned about the time, buy a watch. The clock it is most likely broken or completely wrong.
The three different classroom floors, though strikingly similar in appearance, hold different treasures. Through personal experience, I have been able to decipher some interesting and important quirks that can further improve your Bartlett hall experience.
I have had three classes down in the dungeons of Bartlett. My time in the basement has actually given me one of the grossest, most horrifying experiences I have ever had. Last year, after my Contemporary American Indians class, I decided it was a good idea to use the bathroom across from the basement lecture hall. This bathroom is windowless and constantly has a faint stench of kitty litter. I opened the door, flicked the lights on, and went about my business. When I went to flush the toilet, I looked down and to my horror, out crawls a huge cockroach from under the seat. In a panicked state, I go to wash my hands, and theres another cockroach scuttling across the floor. I will never again enter a bathroom in the basement, and I advise you to do the same.
The first floor holds some great freshman memories since it is where I most notably took College Writing 112. This class changed the whole course of my college career. I started freshman year thinking journalism (the department conveniently across the hall) was my calling, completely disregarding all the anxiety the actual journalistic work gave me. After seeing how wonderful a writing class made me feel, I realized that college didn’t have to be a painstaking journey towards a career I did not want. This is where I decided to become an English major, cementing my future within Bartlett for the years to come.
The other great feature of the first floor is the lobby. There are several tables that can be used to get work done and feel the pain of other English majors trying to furiously read a chapter or finish a paper. It is a community of people trying to keep up with all the literature spanning centuries, while also enjoying some light people watching. The chairs aren’t to comfortable, and the lighting (depending on the day) isn’t always great, but the company is surely motivating.
The second floor is the transition floor. This is where most of the sophomore-level general requirements for the English major are offered. I have taken a number of classes here that were not something I chose, but something forced upon me by the English department. While some were great, others were dull and painful. I have also taken classes outside of the English major on this floor, including all of my Spanish classes, Native Studies classes, and other discussion classes from larger lectures.
There is also a nice little nook on the second floor between where the offices and the classrooms connect. There are two couches a table and a chalkboard, all of which look like they have been there for ages. It is a great area for book reading and napping. However, a lack of well-functioning light fixtures makes it difficult to keep your eyes open on gloomier days. You may want to sit there at 6 PM on a stormy evening to read a book, but consequentially find yourself napping as the soft lighting lulls your eyelids to rest.
The third floor is my favorite floor, not for its balmy fall temperatures, or even its awkward physically-draining stair-climb, but for the classes offered on this top tier. The writing program lives here, alongside most of the upper level english electives. Since, as a senior, this is where most of my classes are, (all of which are courses I actually wanted to take) I have a special affinity for this floor. It looks just like the other floors yet it offers the best of the English department.
There have been rumors floating around that Bartlett will cease to be in the next five years due to its supposedly condemned state. I will be finishing my undergraduate career in its musty, warm embrace, only hoping future English majors will appreciate its antiquity after time. Unless, of course a new Bartlett does finally get built, then I hope no one ever forgets the charm of this deteriorating space, and all the memories it has created. I know I certainly will not, especially since there were cockroaches involved.