Just a five-minute walk from West Campus dorms and a stone’s throw from Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Sanford School of Public Policy offers both convenience and a dose of good luck that comes from our nearby basketball temple. Hundreds of undergraduates visit the building for classes during the day, since Public Policy consistently ranks among Duke’s five most popular majors, according to a 2010 Chronicle article. But just a few Dukies know to return late at night to take advantage of an unappreciated study spot hiding in plain sight.
Students scatter throughout the building during exam week: in the lecture halls where they have class, at the tables overlooking the Fleishman Commons or in the group study rooms on the third floor. If you’re lucky, you might snag one of the high-ceilinged conference rooms on the top floor.
Sanford’s architecture seems to foster the critical thinking that helps late-night studiers structure their thoughts. It feels like a Spanish villa built around a courtyard; from any of the three floors, you can peer into the commons at the center of the building.
Junior Anand Raghuraman said the building’s “open and yet multidimensional” design helps him “think in terms of layers or stages and to remember that there are many levels to problem-solving.” But Public Policy majors aren’t the only ones who can set up camp in Sanford—you can, too.
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