As the only space on campus open 24/7, Gleason Library is the most popular spot on campus during exam season, typically packed to the brim with noisy students studying at all hours of the day.
Most recently it has also become the best spot for hosting surprise birthday parties, as senior Kevin Hu discovered last month.
When he’s not busy snapping photos for the school newspaper, the Campus Times, sailing, or overindulging in caffeinated beverages, Hu, a pre-dental student studying biology, spends most of his free time during exam season studying in the River Campus Libraries (RCL).
His favorite spot by far is the Periodical Reading Room (PRR). “A good part about PRR is how it's quiet, but you can still talk to people. It's a weirdly social/quiet study place. It's a good balance,” said Hu.
As his friend Allie Tay ‘25, puts it, “I feel like Kevin lives in PRR. There's a gang of people always in PRR, and I used to be one of them.”
This is where the idea was born to celebrate his birthday at the RCL. Seniors Cindy He and Steven Ly organized the last-minute celebration for Hu’s 22nd birthday.
Hu was in the middle of studying for three exams including a particularly difficult exam for his biology of aging class at PRR when He came rushing in to find him at midnight.
“I didn't know it was going to happen and I actually forgot that it was my birthday,” said Hu recalling the experience. “And it was midnight, so the [Q&I workers] were kicking people out.”
As Tay and Ly hid in the bushes in front of Rush Rhees, He faked Ly having an emergency to get him out of the library. Miscommunication ensued as they struggled to coordinate the celebration, but ultimately, his closest friends surprised him with balloons and a chocolate cake from the PIT in Gleason.
“Gleason was the only place we would go to being obnoxiously loud,” Tay explained. “He specifically said not to do something for his birthday because he knew he had exams. But within the libraries was a nice balance.”
Amidst the group of students studying for exams in Gleason, this group of friends could be seen sharing a slice of cake for Hu’s birthday. (His only condition for the surprise was refusing his friends’ repeated requests to sing him happy birthday in Gleason.)
“I think it doesn’t really matter where or how you celebrate it, it’s the people that matter,” said Hu. “So even if it's just at Gleason with PIT cake, it's the people that will make this one of my favorite birthday memories.”
