One of the many frustrations a Northeastern student can face is Snell Library’s InfoCommons. From the moment you walk in, it is an adventure full of obstacles to overcome. If you plan on going to InfoCommons at peak hours, which lately seems to be every hour of the day, prepare to wait in plenty of long lines.

It starts from the moment you set foot in the room. Even though you already flashed your Husky Card when you entered the library, you must have it swiped again when you enter InfoCommons. I am not too sure what the purpose of this is. All I know is that it creates unnecessarily long and frustrating lines.

The hardest challenge comes next. The likelihood of finding an empty computer once you get inside is slim to none. You must spend at least five to 10 minutes wandering around the room, eyeing every computer to see who might be getting up soon.

It makes you feel like a stalker because the moment someone starts packing up their belongings, you stand behind them to stake your claim on their seat.

There is no time to lose in InfoCommons. You have to be swift to ensure you get a computer.

But, if you plan on getting some serious work done, do not plan on doing it at InfoCommons. There is a constant chatter coming from all directions. You have the group of students next to you all working on the same project debating their ideas, the two friends that hysterically laugh behind you and, of course, that one who sings along to the music on his headphones a few rows back.

Next, you get to print out your papers. While it’s great that Northeastern has a system where you sign in to the computers with your myNEU username and password, it creates disorder and confusion when you pick up your print outs.

There are some baskets, for the last names that begin with S, for example, that fill up in a matter of minutes. Other boxes, for the names beginning with X, remain rather empty.

Once you fight through the crowd and get to the desk, you have to search through an ocean of papers to try to find your own. It is really unfortunate if you only printed one or two pages because those are the easiest ones to get lost in the mess.

I find it very frustrating, and others with long last names will agree, when we print papers and the first couple of letters are cut off of the page. Therefore our papers get put in a different box every time. Not only do we have to search through one box with overflowing papers, we must search two or sometimes more.

My advice: go to InfoCommons, get your work printed out and leave. Do not do long assignments; that’s what the rest of the library is for. If you have no choice but to study at InfoCommons, I suggest you bring your iPod in order to block out all the noise.

It’s all about being as efficient as possible. Print out everything possible in one trip, so you don’t have to go back multiple times during the week.

Of course, you can be one of those people who spends an entire Saturday night at InfoCommons, as it tends to be rather empty then.

But no matter when you go, never forget to limit your printing job to 20 pages.

– Mary Ann Georgantopoulos is a sophomore journalism major.