NAU Lecture Hall

    The lecture hall is huge. There is no light but the few florescent rays streaming down slowly, diminished from the dank and dusty vaulted ceilings. There are about 300 to 400 students all from various grades spread throughout the enormous classroom. It smells of old books that haven't been opened in decades and a mixture of colognes that attempt to mask some of the students' "study parties" from the night before. 

    From the eighth row up, I can hardly see the the teacher's aid and the professor, let alone what they choose to be pertinent information that goes up on the white board with a dying white-erase marker.  I try to sit alone, that is two to three empty seats in every direction of myself and it appears that most everyone who doesn't have a friend with them tries to do the same. Who knows why. Maybe we don't want to talk to each other or maybe we just find strangers distracting while trying to decipher what's being discussed and written in the front. On several occasions, a couple brave souls have sat by me. We don't talk. We don't even look at each other. It's the definition of an awkward moment, except for it lasts 50 minutes and not a singular moment. 
    Luckily, I find the history of the English language to be interesting. I find it interesting enough to read the textbook after class on my own time. I do this because even though I strain to obtain information in the lecture hall, sometimes all of my hard effort isn't enough and I hardly get anything out of it. I can't be the only person with this problem. The professor is at least 70 years old and his T.A. can't be older than 22 years old. Together, the old age and nervousness make the lectures long, quiet, and shaky. We blame the lecture hall. It's old and outdated. The extent of the technology in the room consists of a newish projector and small laser pointer for the board. The class would be so much better with a microphone and new projector that links the computer to the projector, like all of the new smaller lecture halls have. Until the classroom and the teachers are remodeled, we'll just have to continue to limp along and struggle to learn something.