Welcome back heavy eyelids! It’s only week three and the New School community is already exhausted. Three weeks—just enough time to get assigned a ton of work, while many of our body clocks are still set for summer. As we cut back on our late night TV binging, episode by episode, here are the best spots to squeeze in a quick nap before class at on campus.
Black Leather Seats in the Lang Cafe 65 W. 11th St.
This row of four seats can be a popular spot, especially in the first half of the day. hey are by far the comfiest seating in the cafe. You’re lucky to get one of them, but if you’re really lucky, you might be able to snag two or three. Two will easily support the fetal position. Three to four and you’ll be sleeping like you’re flying first class to London. Of course, everybody in the cafe might hate you. Safest bet is to sit in the corner of one chair and use the top of the thick leather backrest as a pillow.
Benches in front of the Orozco Murals 7th floor 66 W. 12th St.
Much less sought after than the Lang Cafe seats, the two leather benches in the hallway between the women’s restroom and room 713 are prime nap real estate. The walls are a dark brown as opposed to white, giving the area a dimly lit feel . If you can’t sleep, your time wasn’t wasted, because you got to take a good long look at the Orozco Murals.
Rolling circle chairs in the Lobby of 2 W. 13th St.
Stomach sleepers come hither! This might just be the only spot on campus where you can lie on your stomach , that is, if you don’t mind letting your legs dangle a little bit. There are seven of these gray fabric saucers, so availability is rarely the issue. However beware, the material has a way of showcasing every loose string left behind by the frayed denim short shorts that sat there before you. If you look too close, you’ll see stains of all kinds. Although this spot may be the easiest to lie down flat, it may also be the most difficult in terms of accepting its many faults. The walls are glass and everyone on the street can see you, so if you’re a shy napper, this probably isn’t the spot for you.
Brown leather chairs at the Social Justice Hub fifth floor U.C. 63 Fifth Ave.
Don’t get any ideas about the big black benches in the middle! They’re sectioned off in all kinds of crazy directions that make it impossible to get comfortable, and students use them to spread out their work. It may be unsettling to wake up surrounded by papers and people that weren’t there before you fell asleep. My suggestion would be to sit in a brown leather chair and then elect a footrest. Use either another chair or one of the cylindrical silver tables. Don’t forget to check out the view of the New School water tower across the street while you’re there.
Red chairs and navy blue benches seventh floor Arnold Hall 55 W. 13th St.
There are four prime nap spots on the seventh floor of Arnold Hall. Two are red leather chairs and will require the thick-backseat-as-a-pillow method mentioned earlier (note: this method will come in handy when trying to turn any cushioned chair into a nap spot). The other two are longer benches made of a less than ideal tweed-like material, so it is not recommended on a hot day when a lot of your skin is exposed. The good news is the floor is pretty quiet. Most of the rooms are fairly sound proof because they’re practice rooms. The bad news is that the seats are right in front of the elevator, so whoever gets off will see you. If you’re going for a complete recline, it’s probably best to roll over and face the other way to avoid awkward eye contact with passersby.
Alcoves on the ninth, 10th and 11th floors of 6 E. 16th St.
6 E. 16th St. is my personal favorite building to nap in. The alcoves on the ninth, 10th and 11th floors are essentially identical. Each one has five chairs, two long tables and three to four small wooden Ottoman-type pieces of furniture with gray fabric tops that make them extra comfortable for foot resting. But beware! The staircase from the sixth floor to the lobby is under construction and the elevator traffic in 6 E. 16th St. is always heavy, so if you have somewhere to go after your nap, leave extra time.
Jess Mastro is a transfer student at Eugene Lang. She transferred as a sophomore and is currently a much happier junior at Lang than she was a freshman at the state school she attended before. Jess thrives in an intimate class setting where everyone’s ideas can be heard, especially hers. She is undeclared right now, but will most likely be declaring a major in film--which makes sense because she’s probably spent more time watching TV and movies than anything else, besides maybe sleeping. She was born and raised in Manhattan, and she sings mediocrely in her spare time.
