Mohammed, Batu Surkhaev, Vickram Gangaram, Luis Ceferino — Element of Four
November 4, 2019
Campus Chairs:
Ways to Improve Them
Introduction
Campus chairs are an issue. Specifically, the chairs in the classrooms of Shepard Hall.
The chairs are uncomfortable and not well suited for students attempting to learn. While it may
seem like a relatively minor issue it can have an enormous impact on students’ performance in
class and on their health. It is in the best interest of City College to have the classroom chairs in
Shepard Hall to be replaced with better chairs that are more able to meet the needs of the
students that will use them.
According to an article published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, good
posture, especially when sitting is important as stress on the spine is much greater when sitting
(Kim). Since students must frequently spend at least an hour in these chairs multiple times a
week, it is important to ensure these chairs are comfortable for the students and do not negatively
impact their health. Poor posture leads to pain and other adverse conditions that can negatively
affect a student academically and physically. To ensure our grievances were shared by other
students we took a survey of 100 students from different parts of the campus and asked a few
questions about what they thought about the chairs in Shepard Hall. The most important question
was whether or not they believed the chairs should be replaced. Overwhelmingly, the answer was
yes with 79 out of 100 students expressing a desire to have the chairs replaced. In the following
pages, we shall present our case as to why getting new chairs will be to the College’s benefit and
exactly how we can go about implementing this idea to make it a reality.
Action plan:
The replacement chairs in Shepard Hall will take about two days. We have decided we
will send these to charity (AdoptAClassroom.org). Shepard Hall is composed of 70 rooms in the
building and in totality, there are 1438 chairs. We will need six people and two trucks to deliver
these chairs to their new destination. Our new chair is called Virco Feature and will have the
same people who delivered them from the store to the school help out. We have to do these
deliveries during a break so students do not have any problems getting to classes or doing their
work. Also, Having new chairs brings great benefits, some students can alleviate back pain with
proper resting on their backs caused by heavy backpacks, menstrual pain, scoliosis, and much
more. A lot of the pressure is eliminated if better chairs with newer materials are provided. Plus,
when students are at a better comfort level in terms of pain they may endure they can be more
productive. If they have a better backrest on the chairs, that will be provided as opposed to the
weaker and older chairs they can sit upright and do work in comfort. Students are less likely to
slouch over and move around to find a comfortable spot if the new chairs are given, they can
work efficiently and effectively in the process. It will provide less fatigue and a better breathing
style; which can aid students in their performance. A healthy way of living can start from a good
posture, and it comes with good support. Lastly, muscles are not strained as much. They are
successfully aided to support the pelvic areas and lower body to be exact. Muscles strains will be
less common with new chairs, as old chairs become weak and less likely to support people and
their bodily needs. New chairs are a great accessory to the lecture hall, not only are they a tool
for comfort but they aid the health and productivity of students! It’s a simple investment that
leads to a series of great events.
Cost & Benefits
To ensure all students of Shepard Hall have new chairs we counted the total number of
active classrooms and the number of chairs in those rooms. To make that happen each of us took
a floor to count the exact number of chairs and rooms. We came to a result that Sheppard Hall
has four floors with a total number of 70 classrooms. Our group also came to the total number of
1438 chairs.
Later on, we searched for new chairs that not only our school will be able to afford, but
those that have the highest reviews with higher scores. Not only that, but our group also took
comfortability into consideration when deciding on what chairs to get. According to
Schooloutlet.com, Virco 9700BR a type of desk-chair has 93% of positive reviews (considered 4
or 5 stars), with a total score of 4.7 out of 5 stars. For more information see page 6.
After searching up a new chair model we estimated a total cost of chairs with delivery
included in it. It rounded up to $193,000, where $187,000 of them was the cost of chairs alone,
$5,000 on delivery and set-up and $1000 to get rid of the old chairs. However, to make that
happen all the chairs must be purchased by the City College of New York. Although it is a big
number to pay, we believe CCNY has the resources to pay for that change. To represent how
much has to be paid we created a chart with the total amount:
As of benefits, we reported that because of new furniture, in our case chairs, students will
have a better back and body support when being seated, more flexibility and space inside the
chair. Because of the rating and build quality of new desk-chairs, we believe that students will
improve their attendance and grades.
Team
Luis Ceferino is an aspiring second-year electrical engineering student at the City
College of New York. He is skilled in mathematics and science. His current job is as a shift
manager at McDonald’s where he is in charge of deliveries and inventory. He handles what needs
to be ordered and ensures the store has all the food and supplies it will need to properly function.
Assessing what is needed for a place to function properly is a strength of Luis, as in managing
the resources an institution has at its disposal.
Batu Surkhaev is a second-year student at The City College of New York. Growing up
in Russia he later moved to the United States to find a better life. Throughout his five years
living in Brooklyn, he attended and graduated from Lafayette International High School. Batu
was twice awarded for the most effective and outstanding student of 2016 and 2017. Because of
his passion for soccer and his experience as a three-time captain there, he learned leadership and
passion skills. Even though Batu is still undecided with his major, his goal is to gather
experience from all over the campus and find out his future career. Outside of classes his favorite
thing to do is to build computers and disassemble new electronics, phones, in particular, to better
understand the work behind the magic. As of today, he stands between B.S. in Computer Science
and B.A. of Electronic Design.
Vickram Gangaram is a second-year undergraduate at City College. He currently lives
in The Bronx where he completed his high school education at Bronx Letters but was born in
Guyana and migrated to the United States about three years ago with his parents and younger
sister. Vickram is detailed- oriented and able to work under pressure as he did in his previous job
at Modell’s Warehouse(Bronx Branch) under the title ‘Receiver’ where he organized many
packages containing sporting goods that are usually in demand and checked to see if they’re
packed in the right order without any help from another worker. He is also proficient in
Microsoft Office mainly Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. In terms of his major, Vickram is
currently undecided but is leaning towards Electrical Engineering because during his childhood,
he was always interested in Electrical Circuits and how they work.
Mohammed Hossain is a student at City College of New York, he spent fourteen years
of his life in Bangladesh. He went to school in Bangladesh for eight years and he was not a
bright student or hardworking person. He just wanted to pass classes, he did not care if he was
ranked first or last. In 2014 he moved to New York and at first, he did not want to study, but his
mother and brother forced him to aim for the best in high school. It was not easy to get along
with everyone in high school for him because he did not understand a bit of English. Ninth grade
was a struggle for him he failed his Living Environment regents however, he passed math. When
he got in tenth grade he started working hard and caring about academics. Then, he became a
student of the month twice for Earth Science and Geometry respectively. Also, he became the
captain of the cricket team. He has the skill of leadership, as exhibited by his great captaining
efforts done that year; he successfully guided his team to the finals despite challenges that arose.
Near the end of high school, he was ranked in the top percentile of his class and went on to
achieve his dreams in college. Currently, his major is still undecided; however, he wants to study
computer science. He has been exploring and watching videos on YouTube to which he finds
great interest in the field.
Conclusion
The objective of this research is to select something on campus that should be improved
on and we choose campus chairs specifically the classroom chairs in Shepard Hall. Back pain is
one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor and it is one of the causes of disability.
The Students’ chairs in Shepard hall are made from wood and their backrest is angled poorly.
This can lead to a poor sitting position and feeling uncomfortable since the materials used are
made from some type of hardwood. Additionally, prolonged sitting in them would most likely
lead to back pain. One of the key factors in our research is the survey since it provides useful
information and without it, we wouldn’t be able to determine whether the students like the
current classroom chairs or they want a replacement as well as selecting the right type of chair
that would accommodate the students(for the set who prefer an upgrade as well for those who
don’t or doesn’t have an opinion). Based on our survey, we choose a chair from a website called
Schooloutlet. The website and the chair itself has a good review from customers. When
compared to the current Classroom chairs in Shepard Hall, the VIRCO 9700BR (brand of the
chair) tubular frame is made from steel (making it durable), the backrest is properly angled for a
better sitting position and has slots which intensify the design and comfort. The shell which
comprises both the seat and backrest connected together is made from a high-density
polyethylene thus decreasing the chance of breaking the backrest and contains a substance to
eliminate static electricity. Also, this product has a 10-year warranty.
References
- Kim D., Cho M., Park Y., Yang Y. Effect of an exercise program for posture correction
on musculoskeletal pain. J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 2015;27:1791–1794. DOI:
10.1589/jpts.27.1791. - “Virco 9700BR.” Www.schooloutlet.com,
www.schooloutlet.com/Virco_9700BR_ASAP_School_Chair_Desk_Medium_Oak_p/virco-
9700br-asap.htm?CartID=1.
