The College Classroom Seating Arrangement

There's no official assigned seating, yet there always seems to be anyway

Originally published on February 6, 2017

As a new semester begins, I’ve already noticed the phenomenon that, once again, the seats we pick on the first day of class are the ones we gravitate towards and somehow we feel territorial when someone sits in “our” seat. We’ve all gone through high school with varying degrees of assigned seating; maybe the seats you chose at the start of the year are the seats you’re stuck with. Perhaps that’s why we sit in the same seats and expect everyone to remain in those same seats as well. There’s no assigned seating; it’s just how it is.

I’ve noticed this in particular in most of my music classes that carried over from last semester; most of us are continually sitting in the same seats. I’ve had to move around a couple times if someone beats me to the classroom, but for the most part it’s the same seat. I’ve used the same piano in my piano class for 3 semesters. A friend and I are sitting in the same seats in a classroom where we took another class last semester. It just made the most sense. I don’t think it’s because all of us have a compulsion to keep things exactly the same. It’s familiarity, and there’s comfort in familiarity.

The quirk I’ve noticed with my seating choices is they are usually on more of the left side of the classroom, and with a little thought I think I’ve figured out why. There are two main reasons. The first is I am left handed, and being able to have more freedom on the left side of my body is a subconscious desire. The second is usually it is closer to the door. I don’t pick these seats as a means for an easy “escape” but rather they’re usually the first seat I notice as I walk in the door. It’s quick, it’s easy, and I don’t have to walk all over everyone to get to my seat.

I’ve also noticed, even more than my seats in classrooms, that I am very territorial about my favorite practice room, which I have been using consistently for 3 semesters. Occasionally someone is in there and I have to find another room (and I have a mental list of suitable replacements). It’s just a weird feeling whenever someone is in “my” room, especially during my normal practice times, since I usually practice consistently each week. This happened at the end of last semester a couple times. All semester, I’ve used that room on MW right after the second class of the day. I asked myself, “Why, why, suddenly, at Week 14, at 9:55 on a Monday, are you in that particular room?” It’s not that it affects my playing or concentration. It’s just a matter of familiarity and comfort.

Humans are creatures of habit, and a universal example of that can be found in any college classroom. We pick the same seats, practice in the same rooms. Think about where you usually sit in a classroom and try to figure out why, like I did. I bet you’ve never thought about it before.