As rainfall soaked campus, students gathered in the Library for International and Public Affairs Wednesday afternoon to welcome USC’s second hub for rest and relaxation.

The Undergraduate Student Government’s RestSC held an open house to introduce the new section of the library dedicated to resting; the space contains “moon pods” for students to nap on, lockers for students’ belongings and dividers to separate the RestSC space from the rest of the library. USG allocated over $3,100 for the new space.

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USG first launched RestSC in April 2023 in the University Religious Center to give students an accessible place to recharge between classes — particularly for commuter students who are unable to travel home between classes. Sanjana Sambhwani, USG’s senior executive aide and a junior majoring in cognitive science and healthcare decision analysis, said URC administration was supportive of their initiative, but there was always an intention to move the space into USC Libraries. 

“[Libraries] are so central to [students’] USC experience; they’re always here,” Sambhwani said. “If we were able to bring this type of culture into the libraries, then students could really tap into it and balance their days between rest and working.”

Andy Rutkowski, acting head of LIPA, said RestSC is still in its pilot stage at LIPA, as he and USG are still learning how to best maintain the space and its unique furniture. However, Rutkowski said RestSC fit so well within LIPA that it could already serve as a model for other libraries. 

“We, within a week, had students in there every single day using [the space], so we’re going to take really good data to back [Rest SC] up,” Rutkowski said. “We can show that, at the end of the semester: Yes, we took away a few seats from studying, but students are here.” 

Sambhwani, along with the other two RestSC co-founders, Eduard Ghazaryan and Sam Habibi, connected with Rutkowski in Spring 2023. Rutkowski said LIPA felt like a natural new home for RestSC after it transitioned out of URC, as LIPA already possessed couches and was a more comfortable place to rest and study. 

Rutkowski said USC Libraries is constantly trying to expand its services to students. In the past, that mostly included access to study spaces and technology, but RestSC gave LIPA a unique way to add value to the student library experience.  

“The picture that was so important from USG was that, in addition to studying, libraries can provide students with spaces for recharging,” Rutkowski said. “I really want to thank USG for partnering with us and letting this opportunity happen … we do a lot on our own, but we do better in collaboration with students.” 

Sambhwani said the stigma around napping and resting during the day resulted in some initial roadblocks for RestSC. USC Libraries tended to prioritize being a place for students to study and learn, prompting some initial concern from the other libraries towards making them a place for students to recharge as well. 

“Napping is seen as lazy, and maybe that’s why some administration is against it because they don’t want to create a culture of laziness and not drive, but it’s crazy how many benefits it can have,” Sambhwani said. “Students who don’t have the privilege of being able to go to their dorm between classes, if they have spaces throughout the school that allow them to recharge, they’ll be overall happier.” 

Ghazaryad, a junior majoring in global business, said while the space would be particularly important for commuter students, other universities have adapted programs like RestSC to give every student the academic advantage that comes with being well rested. 

“We researched [universities] around the world and went to UCLA to see how other universities did [these programs],” Ghazaryan said. “There’s a lot of thinking and research saying that rested students perform better academically.” 

UCLA’s BruinHub is located within Wooden Center — an athletic complex at UCLA — and is available to students who have submitted an application. The space was specifically designed for commuters and features refrigerators, charging stations and study pods. 

While RestSC is currently only located at LIPA, Sambhwani said she hopes the program spreads to more locations across campus and increases accessibility to rest for students.

“My vision is that every library will tap into something like this … Just incorporating more comfortable furniture and giving people the option to [rest and study] would be amazing,” Sambhwani said. “I also hope that campus administration as a whole is able to pick this up as a new movement towards wellness, mental wellbeing and recharg[ing].”