Java offers place to relax, study, socialize

The Jammin’ Java is a popular hang-out spot, but the big draw has little to do with coffee. This campus cafe is all about meeting friends and socializing.

“When all the guys come in, it’s like a barbershop, but when the girls come in, it’s more like a salon; they gossip and talk about who they like,” first-year Chase Waters said.

Most students agree that the Jammin’ Java offers a friendly atmosphere. Lunchtime is the busiest time and offers an especially good chance to meet up with friends, according to several students.

The environment in Jammin’ Java tends to fluctuate during the day, however.

Early morning and late at night are the best times to study there, according to first-year students Jenna Rogers and Cassity McGriff. While the atmosphere is loud and social during the day, it transforms into more of a café atmosphere at night, with students reading books and sipping coffee, according to juniors Jonathan Gordon and Sofia Rolon.

“The atmosphere is flexible, versatile and you can meet all kinds of people,” Rogers said.

Sometimes, students can be seen sleeping on the couches in the lounge area, an aspect of the Jammin’ Java especially appealing to some.

“The couches are the best part,” Waters said. “You can fall asleep quick.”

While some students hang out in the Jammin’ Java for fun, many others find themselves there out of necessity, like Gordon, a commuter, along with first-year commuter Edwin Robinson, who said he sits in the Jammin’ Java every day.

Even McGriff and Rogers, who enjoy the time they spend with their friends in the cafe, stated that they really have no other place to go between classes, since they live at Pennswood.

Because of this, the Jammin’ Java is a popular place for many commuters.

“The community of commuters is growing. We’re going to take over and create a whole new Jammin’ Java,” Gordon joked.

Even those who inhabit the Jammin’ Java out of necessity agree that it offers a friendly, comfortable place to be.

“It’s a good place to go if you don’t go to chapel,” Rogers said.

The Jammin’ Java’s popularity does not stop at the comfy couches; it can also be credited to the haven it becomes from student duties.

“People like reasons not to do work,” senior Julia Shields said. “Eating, drinking coffee and socializing are reasons not to do work.”