Cherubs spent time writing and learning the trade of journalism in Fisk and Jones Halls and the McCormick Foundation Center. However, many cherubs escaped further onto campus and into downtown Evanston to another popular spot — libraries.
Northwestern’s campus is home to three libraries, two of which are frequently used by cherubs: Deering and University. Students used these spaces to study, focus and dial in on writing stories.
“It’s just nice,” said Ruthie Gravelle of Columbus, Ohio. “It feels like you should be doing work. And the university libraries are open and free, and nice looking.”
Back home, Gravelle frequents libraries with her friends to study and get work done. At cherubs, she studied for the SAT and wrote stories with friends in Deering and University Library.
Both libraries are available to cherubs, but hold striking differences in appearance. University Library is a brutalist-style building, and Deering is collegiate gothic.
“The University Library is designed really intricately, because outside it looks like books are being pulled off a shelf in a circular manner with windows along the entire building,” Jiayue Zou of McLean, Virginia, said. “It brings a very calming atmosphere to study.”
The University Library was opened in January 1970, while Charles Deering Memorial Library, which served as the University’s main library up until that time, was finished in January 1933.
“It’s wooden style on the inside, and it has these stained glass windows, which are really pretty, so it has good ambient lighting,” Zou said. “It’s the old, retro vibe in Deering Library that really makes you sit down and study in peace.”
Another Deering regular is Charlie Tobin of Menlo Park, California. Tobin began writing at Deering during the second week of the program.
“One of my big regrets is that I didn’t work in Deering from the very start,” Tobin said. “It’s just a perfect library, a perfect place to do work.”
Some more adventurous cherubs ventured off campus to the Evanston Public Library.
“It’s really big — there’s four or five floors,” said Maddie Shoop-Gardner of San Carlos, California. “I’m someone who needs a really quiet environment to work in, and I was really impressed.”
Fellow cherub Sage Gilliland of Mount Prospect, Illinois, also used Evanston’s library to work, sometimes after grabbing a boba tea from across the street.
“A library is like a signal to my brain,” Gilland said. “If you just stay in your dorm, it’s going to be a lot easier to get off task than it’s going to be at the library, surrounded by other people who are doing the work that you should be doing.”
