How to HEC
Contributor(s): Sophia Toe (’23)
“I know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible.” Okay, yes it might not be this deep. But hear me out: for the past couple of months, the Health Education Campus, a.k.a. The Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion, a.k.a the future of health education with its glorious shining (literally, the thing is constantly shining) space has been closed off to us students and let’s just say disheartened is an understatement to how I’m feeling.
By now you’ve heard all the fancy facts about the HEC and how much of an architectural achievement it is so I’ll focus on the things you may not know unless you spend your days and nights glued to a chair in an IQ room cramming the study guides your classmates so generously shared in preparation for your impending block exam.
Study Spots
First, no one really knows how long they’ll keep the HEC open during the pandemic and what spaces will be unavailable to us. Last year, IQ rooms were a hot commodity. Everyone wanted to claim an IQ room to themselves, get real comfortable and chug away into the afternoon and evening. I would strongly recommend using IQ rooms to study, the white boards are clutch and you can project anything you want really onto the TV.
Another great place is the library, also known as the fish bowl. Personally, it wasn’t my vibe but many of my friends could really focus there and get motivated to do work, so try it out!
The third floor is usually empty and a great place to go hide and get all your work done. The couch/cubicles on the fourth floor are also ideal for focusing.
Speaking of which, the lecture hall is always freezing so you may want to keep a cardigan in your locker. I would also recommend keeping snacks, a change of clothes and a spare white coat in your locker but you’ve probably thought of that already.
Bathrooms
The first floor bathrooms were perpetually full after lecture during my first year. I always would go straight to the third floor bathrooms since they were almost always empty.
Food
Options in the HEC are limited: either the cafeteria or the Cafe. I found the cafeteria to be overpriced but I absolutely recommend their pancakes, eggs and potatoes breakfast on fridays! The Cafe used to be open from 7am to 4pm every weekday. Again, not too sure how Covid will change that but if they are open, do try their cheese danish. They go by fast!
Under Innova I would highly recommend the sandwiches and pastries at Fluffy Duck.
Urban Kitchen also has some delicious staples (burgers, pasta, salads) as well as what I’ve been told is good Egyptian food. The Cleveland Clinic Cafeteria is always a great option if you don’t mind taking a quick walk. The options there include Subway, a mexican spot, some really good burgers, salads, sandwiches...essentially the whole spectrum.
Alternatively, the most popular and cost effective option is to bring your lunch and heat it up in the microwaves on the second and fourth floors.
By now you’ve heard all the fancy facts about the HEC and how much of an architectural achievement it is so I’ll focus on the things you may not know unless you spend your days and nights glued to a chair in an IQ room cramming the study guides your classmates so generously shared in preparation for your impending block exam.
Study Spots
First, no one really knows how long they’ll keep the HEC open during the pandemic and what spaces will be unavailable to us. Last year, IQ rooms were a hot commodity. Everyone wanted to claim an IQ room to themselves, get real comfortable and chug away into the afternoon and evening. I would strongly recommend using IQ rooms to study, the white boards are clutch and you can project anything you want really onto the TV.
Another great place is the library, also known as the fish bowl. Personally, it wasn’t my vibe but many of my friends could really focus there and get motivated to do work, so try it out!
The third floor is usually empty and a great place to go hide and get all your work done. The couch/cubicles on the fourth floor are also ideal for focusing.
Speaking of which, the lecture hall is always freezing so you may want to keep a cardigan in your locker. I would also recommend keeping snacks, a change of clothes and a spare white coat in your locker but you’ve probably thought of that already.
Bathrooms
The first floor bathrooms were perpetually full after lecture during my first year. I always would go straight to the third floor bathrooms since they were almost always empty.
Food
Options in the HEC are limited: either the cafeteria or the Cafe. I found the cafeteria to be overpriced but I absolutely recommend their pancakes, eggs and potatoes breakfast on fridays! The Cafe used to be open from 7am to 4pm every weekday. Again, not too sure how Covid will change that but if they are open, do try their cheese danish. They go by fast!
Under Innova I would highly recommend the sandwiches and pastries at Fluffy Duck.
Urban Kitchen also has some delicious staples (burgers, pasta, salads) as well as what I’ve been told is good Egyptian food. The Cleveland Clinic Cafeteria is always a great option if you don’t mind taking a quick walk. The options there include Subway, a mexican spot, some really good burgers, salads, sandwiches...essentially the whole spectrum.
Alternatively, the most popular and cost effective option is to bring your lunch and heat it up in the microwaves on the second and fourth floors.