An all-access pass to watching television on campus

Yes, Hulu has made it so students can watch virtually any TV show on their laptops in bed. And yes, it is easy to just walk down to the floor lounge and watch whatever the masses have chosen. But when students are seeking an alternative where they can watch their shows and control the remote, Columbia has some prime offbeat TV havens scattered across campus.

Hewitt Dining Hall

On your first couple of visits to Hewitt Dining Hall, this culinary locale may appear to be far from relaxing. However, just like deciding when to get coffee at Java City, it’s all in the timing. Arrive early in the afternoon during the weekend and you’ll have it made: a relatively empty cafeteria, a widescreen TV, plenty of couches with nearby tables to rest homework or feet on, and unlimited supplies of food within reach. The most you will have to do is ask someone for the remote. And, don’t be embarrassed about what you’re watching—after late weekend nights, other diners will be thankful for some mindless distractions.

Sulzberger Lounge

Unfortunately, the lounges on some of the floors in the Barnard freshman dorms don’t get cable. However, cable addicts, fear not: Even the most die-hard Bravo-lovers can get their Padma fix without changing out of their pajamas. For cable TV at Barnard, a favorite location is the lobby in Sulzberger. The television is flat-screen and the seating is comfy. Plus, upperclassmen from Sulzberger Tower use this TV as well, so it’s easy to make some friends who will be full of good advice about Barnard. However, as competition for control over channel choice can become fierce, plan on arriving early and marking your territory in whatever way you deem necessary.

Butler Media Center (Room 208B)

The best part of watching TV in Butler? Being able to watch trash and still tell yourself (and your professors!) that you are in a library. While there may be some shame in passing by classmates who are slogging through Austen and Nietzsche to catch up on TV, keep your head high and walk to the Butler Media Center, just across from the Reference Desk. There, students can check out any of the library’s DVDs, and enjoy them for free on an LCD flat-screen monitor, equipped with headphones for discretion. If anyone gives you a hard time about watching Brooke Knows Best at one of the room’s workstations, just tell them you’re doing film studies.

Low Steps

Whether people are protesting, noshing, or tripping and looking to make sure no one noticed, Low Steps, in front of Low Library, are always busy. One of the nicest ways, however, to enjoy this iconic part of Columbia’s campus is to watch TV. A few times a year, student groups set up a large projection screen on College Walk, providing a screen visible to as many students as can crowd onto the steps in front of it. Last year, the ServiceNation event, the presidential inauguration, and Planet Earth were all shown on the big screen. If you can’t see the real thing—Obama and McCain discussing ROTC or an orca whale swallowing its night’s supper in the open ocean—this massive screen is the next best thing.