By Anna Marden, News Staff

Wandering around the Curry Student Center (CSC), students might stumble upon a sign on the third floor labeled ‘Roof Terrace.’ Down a little hall and out the door there is a large area resembling a pool deck, minus the pool.’

Doing homework or meeting with fellow students at the default campus common spaces can be challenging because of noise and crowds. Luckily, Northeastern offers plenty of alternative hang-out spots ‘- like the roof deck ‘- to students in search of a quiet space.’

The roof terrace is accessible from the third floor on the front side of the building. There are glass tables, wooden lawn chairs and even lounge chairs for students to lie down and catch some serious rays.’

Dan Germain, a senior communication studies major who was sitting on the terrace and eating lunch with a friend on a recent afternoon, said it was his spot of choice when the weather is favorable.

‘It’s nice,’ he said. ‘Bring sunglasses.’

Germain said he also likes the roof because it is peaceful.

‘It’s just a quiet place; there aren’t a lot of places where [it’s not crowded],’ he said. ‘Not a lot of people know about it.’

Jamie Goldsholl, a middler business major, was one of the people who didn’t know about it ‘- until this week.’

‘This is the first time I’ve been up here; I just noticed it today,’ Goldsholl said.’

On the other side of Centennial Commons, another outside area offers an even quieter and more tranquil study or lunch location. A garden fills the space between the Behrakis Health Sciences Center and West Village E. ‘

Flowers, shrubbery and small trees line the stairway and paved path that slopes up between the two aforementioned buildings, leading to a patch of mowed grass with rectangular stone benches.

At this time of the year, the remaining flowers are mostly on their way out, but enough remain to add a variety of colors, along with small, crimson berries on some of the shrubs. Back indoors at CSC, AfterHOURS provides another alternate to the main common rooms.

AfterHOURS is the on-campus Starbucks location and a club run by students. It is a great place to grab that essential caffeine, study, hang with friends or zone out and listen to whatever tunes they’re playing ‘- Monday it was The Beatles.’

Six nights a week, afterHOURS transforms into a venue where musical acts such as Girl Talk and RX Bandits have performed in the past.’

Transfer student Natasha Sujan, a junior finance major, said she has already come into afterHOURS several times this semester.

‘I like it, I mean it’s a pretty cool place,’ said Sujan. ‘For some reason I can concentrate here.’