Common to 10 percent of the population, David Albani sometimes finds it awkward to take notes during class. His elbow will hang in the air without anywhere to rest, making it difficult to write legibly.
Albani experiences these kinds of problems because he is a left-handed student – a population that all too often gets stuck sitting at right-hand desks on campus.
“In some of my lecture halls, there are plenty of left-handed desks available, so us lefties aren’t left too far in the dust with that one,” said Albani, a sophomore in physics. “But when it comes to recitation and smaller-sized classrooms, sometimes they have one or two (left-handed desks), maybe. It’s (inconsistent) of how they’re spread out.”
Albani is not the only southpaw that has issues with the lack of left-handed desks on campus. In fact, because of a concern filed through the Undergraduate Student Government Web site, USG is working on a plan to get more desks for left-handers.
“There’s a great lack of left-hand desks in a lot of the older buildings. That’s where I’ve noticed a trend,” said Danielle Smith, a senior in evolution, ecology and organismal biology and project manager of the left-hand desk issue.
Smith said this will eventually become a campus-wide project once she has more student help. The initial list of priority buildings with a lack of left-hand desks include MacQuigg Laboratory, Central Classroom Building, Hitchcock Hall, Postle Hall, Smith Laboratory and Watts Hall.
The left-hand desk project, which is expected to take at least a year to complete, moved into the negotiation phase of development. Smith has been communicating with building coordinators, who have been very receptive to the idea of adding more left-hand desks.
“I’m assuming (the negotiation phase is) going to be a rough road, especially with some of the rooms that have planted desks,” said Dave Knapp, a junior in economics and political science and director of policy groups for USG. “But even for the other (rooms), it’s a matter of purchasing desks and ensuring that the money is there.”
Smith is conducting research about which classrooms need desks and how many. He came up with an idea to make everyone happy, whether right or left-handed.
“What I would like to see is instead of just right-hand desks and left-hand desks, is just plain tables so you don’t have to worry about where you want to sit,” she said.
The left-handed student population is thankful for the attention from USG on the issue.
“If they have time to concern themselves with it, that’s certainly time that would be well spent,” Albani said. “The left-handed population would definitely appreciate that.”
