Directly across from the busts in the second floor reading room that Nic so artfully described is a door. It is made of seemingly ordinary brown wood, worn by the hundreds of hands that have pushed it throughout the years. An EXIT sign placed above helps distinguish the door from the empty bookshelves on its sides, while a red sign denotes that bathrooms are to be found behind said door. Out of simple curiosity and a need to use the facilities I pushed the door open, placing my hand where hundreds, if not thousands had placed their hands before me.
Upon opening the door I was greeted by an unexpected sight: three grown men were kneeling on prayer rugs before me, seemingly oblivious of my presence. A fourth stared me down with beady black eyes. Feeling, and righteously so, that I had interrupted something sacred I ducked into the bathroom. The door closed with a loud metallic bang, causing me to wince – I did not want to draw attention to myself. At this point I knew that I wanted to write about this hallway for this post and I thought that I would be much better off if the hallway were empty.
After relieving myself and washing my hands I paused for an unnaturally long time to admire my beard in the mirror. After doing so, I breathed a prayer and slowly opened the door. To my intense satisfaction the hallway was deserted. A series of flip-flops were placed against the wall opposite the bathroom and the prayer rugs were folded neatly in the corner. A black star denoted the direction of Mecca. Prayer times were printed on a white sheet which was scotch taped to the wall.
In analyzing this space I realized that it has something to say about proper conduct in a library and how busy the world is. Apparently while it is acceptable to whip out a prayer rug in a busy street, hallway between classrooms or alleyway, doing so in the main areas of Bobst is deemed unacceptable. Additionally the hallway’s convenient location next to the study room and relative lack of inspiration (its not a nice place to pray) showcases the necessity of being able to get the deed over with quickly and return to your work.
Couldn’t post the picture either :/
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