The cocktail lounge, a popular Uris library study space, is closed until further notice for repairs. According to a sign left on the door by University maintenance, the closure is due to a water leak. As a result, students have had to find new spaces on campus to study.
Part of the appeal of the cocktail lounge for students is that it is open 24-hours a day. Students who got comfortable studying there late at night now have to adjust to other libraries.
“I really liked going there to study. I’ve got a prelim coming up, and now I can’t go study [there], so I’ve gotta find a new space that I’m comfortable with,” said Aiden Lee ’26. “[I’ve been studying in] the Asian studies lounge in Olin, it’s pretty quiet and spacious … but Cocktail Lounge is better.”
Some students have opted to return to dorm study spaces instead of moving to other libraries. Bella Cuomo ’25 said her friends frequently went to the cocktail lounge because of its late hours, but they are now packing into their residence hall lounge.
“Some of [my friends] have actually complained about having to be in our lounge because the other 24 hour ones are different, they don’t wanna go there,” Cuomo said. “We’re [in the residence hall lounge] every night now, there’s a lot more people — like my whole building.”
The closure hasn’t had as much of an effect on older students like Jalen Knight ’23, who use the lounge less. Knight used the cocktail lounge more often as a freshman and again as a junior, once many COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted. The recent closure of the space has not impacted her as much because changes to how people behaved in the space have kept her away.
“It started getting louder, people were talking a lot more than in my first year. But I definitely think it was a nice space so it would be nice if it stayed open,” Knight said.
For students who do rely on the cocktail lounge as a regular study space, the disruption has been more severe.
“I love the cocktail lounge. It takes a certain place to get me into the flow and into the zone,” said Lin Hlaing ’26. “You know, prelim season is hitting, and there could not have been a worse time to close such an integral part of my academic experience.”
The cocktail lounge also was a social space for new students to meet as they study, and had amenities like study rooms that some other spaces did not have.
“The cocktail lounge has been my study spot since I got here, and as a freshman I feel like it’s a great place to meet people and study well,” said Arnith Mothukuri ’26. “I really liked the study rooms at the cocktail lounge. I feel like it’s a great way to get into your stream of productivity.”
One benefit of the closure for new students was that it forced them to explore new campus study spaces that they otherwise would not have used.
“It kinda forced us to explore, we’ve probably studied at a different hall on campus every day [over] the past few weeks,” Hlaing said.
But, students are still anxious for the cocktail lounge to return as a study option, and wonder when it will be available again.
“When do they plan to open it? It’s been one week,” said Anastasia Sabenko ’25. “We have a lot of different options to go to but it’s a nice place, I hope they will fix it.”