There are a lot of different aspects to creating a good learning environment, but one that is being overlooked is the environment’s seating. We’re not just talking about the chairs themselves. As a plus-size person, I’ve experienced firsthand the discomfort caused by these seats and they tend to disregard the needs of people with different body sizes. The standardized seating in lecture halls and classrooms often lacks the inclusivity needed to accommodate diverse body sizes. The struggle of squeezing into desks or chairs not designed with different body shapes in mind can be both physically and emotionally taxing. It highlights a broader issue of how institutions like QC need to prioritize creating spaces that cater to the varied dimensions of their student body. Advocating for size-inclusive seating is not just about comfort; it’s a call for recognizing and embracing the diversity of individuals within the educational environment. It is the actual educational spaces that impact our overall experience.Take a second to imagine a classroom where the seats are designed with different body sizes in mind, where everyone can sit comfortably and be able to improve their learning experience. That’s the change we want to aim for.

With the discomfort caused by sitting on these uncomfortable chairs, students often become distracted and lose focus. Their lower back, neck, and other areas are all hurting as a result of their unpleasant seating. The way school seating is designed can have an impact on students’ comfort and learning levels while they are sitting for long periods of time. A lack of diversity in desk chair designs, catering to various student sizes in terms of gender, weight, and height, has been identified. Students would get distracted from their studies, homework, and in-class tasks as a result of these unpleasant, terrible, and painful circumstances, which would impair their ability to learn.

The question we need to ask is: How can we make classroom seats better for students of all sizes, thinking about comfort, and inclusivity, and making the environment positive for learning? This question is important and relates to how we look at how classroom seats are arranged right now. Using Eugene Harvey and Melaine Kenyons’ study “Classroom Seating Considerations for 21st Century Students and Faculty,” it’s obvious that the current seats we have are not the best fit for the different needs of today’s students. Given this issue at QC, our group proposes that there be new seating added that is comfortable and inclusive to everyone added to classrooms. It will improve campus life for students by giving them a comfortable space to focus on their work and improve their satisfaction. 

Eugene Harvey and Melaine Kenyon highlight the challenges institutions like QC are facing with their seating. They note that “Learning space should illustrate the value of a proactive strategic direction, but, despite the growing body of literature, many educational institutions remain handcuffed by dwindling budgets, enrollment concerns, and classroom seating capacities.” Even though many studies show ways to improve classrooms it’s hard to put it into practice with these issues in mind. The authors of this article discuss with their readers the negative consequences of neglecting the design of our learning spaces.“If ignored or left unchecked, these spaces become misaligned to student and faculty expectations, resulting in, minimally, frustration with classroom spaces while, at worst, posing as true barriers and impediments to learning and teaching.” Eugene Harvey and Melaine Kenyon emphasized the potential negative effects of disregarding the importance of comfortable and inclusive classroom seating arrangements. 

With this issue at QC in mind, our group is advocating for more inclusive and comfortable seating in our classrooms. It’s not only for improving our physical comfort but to improve campus life as well. If we were to incorporate seating that caters to different body sizes we can enhance students’ satisfaction and make sure we have a comfortable environment to learn.