Bucknell boasts a variety of different facilities for student needs and has done very well at cultivating an environment where students can pursue their unique interests.

There are spaces for exercise, dancing, studying or grabbing a coffee. There are spaces for specific affinity groups, for counseling and student organizations. But are there undesignated spaces between lecture halls and dormitories, non-programmed venues that are meant to foster connections and enrich culture, where students can informally gather? Traditionally, bars have served as the primary third place in American society, and that remains still today. Perhaps coffee shops serve as the non-alcoholic alternative, or restaurants, for a more neutral ground.

Especially in college, there is a greater need than ever to find those places, to feel both emotionally and physically connected to a community. Fortunately, as I’ve learned throughout my first semester at Bucknell, third places can be any place you feel at home. The lab is one of my third places, and perhaps the Tustin Studio Theater is for someone else or the KLARC for yet another. Even if third places were originally meant to be spaces with no specific activity in mind, where individuals could come together outside of work and home to simply relax, they have since evolved to mean any home away from home, any source of comfort, any means to pursue passions and hobbies. In the age of technology and increased isolation, third places mean more, especially to those of us who find ourselves feeling homesick or disconnected.

Part of college life is about carving out a unique niche for ourselves, not to replace the familiarity of home, but to create a new one here at Bucknell. And whether you find that home on a sports team, in an a cappella group, on an OEL trip or as part of “The Bucknellian,” you’ll find yourself as part of a family. And between labs and lectures, and maybe even living on your own for the first time, that is invaluable.