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• Word on the street

This Issue 02/01/2007

Also in this issue

• Rooters
• Street Sweeper
• Militant Vegans Storm Campus
• 1ST ANNUAL PENN KING OF WINGS COMPETITION
• The Engineering Library
• Valentine's lessons from my va-jay-jay

Tucked away in the Schattner Center at 40th and Spruce, the Dental Library seems remote from undergraduate life. It houses loads of thick medical books, but only a few four-person tables, about twelve private booths, and five computers.

Aside from the scanty resources, its ambience ironically resembles that of a dentist's waiting room. The sign posted on the entrance door reads "Please do not wear or bring gowns or lab coats into library," imposing a medical clinic vibe even before entering. And titles like Medical Microbiology and Craniofacial Development fill the bookshelves, upping the library's creepy factor.

To add to the spookiness, there is the constant buzzing of heating and gadgets. This noise mimics the hum of dental drills and X-ray machines, only increasing the eerie feeling of an otherwise respectable work environment.

With such few people, every small movement creates a booming distraction. Someone flips a page or sips a drink, and almost everyone looks up from their work. The quiet-culture could drive any sane person crazy.

Undergrads seem too youthful, too lively and too social for the Dental Library. And with only dental students allowed in past 5 p.m., it's unsurprising that anyone aside from the molar-obsessed uses this library.