Masuk Free Press

A “Third Place” is a place separate from your home or work (or, in our case school), where people can meet, socialize and build community. Third places are places like gyms, libraries, movie theatres and bowling alleys. They are places we go to for fun, not out of obligation, and they are crucial in building relationships, fostering a sense of belonging and community, and improving our psychological well-being. 

As a teenager living in Monroe, I can say with certainty that we are extremely lacking in third places. While we do have a gym, you can’t get in without a membership, and a workout isn’t always the most appealing hangout option. We have the library, but it closes on Friday and Saturday by 2 pm and is fully closed on Sundays. 

In terms of coffee shops, while we have a Dunkin, their indoor seating is extremely limited, and the atmosphere inside isn’t optimal for relaxing with friends. While Last Drop Coffee Shop has a nice, homey atmosphere, you have to journey across town to get there. Even if you were willing to make that trek, Last Drop closes daily at 3 pm and shuts down even earlier, at noon, on Sundays. A coffee shop would be the perfect place to catch up and study with friends after school, but by the time Masuk students would make it there, they wouldn’t have enough time to do anything but order a quick coffee. 

To access malls, theatres, bowling alleys and other third places, Monroe residents must travel on the highway. 

The only semblance of a third place that Monroe teenagers and residents have are sit-down and quick-service restaurants. While there is something to be appreciated about connecting with people over a meal, frequent trips to restaurants get expensive quickly, and aren’t optimal for your health. Masuk students are seen frequenting McDonalds, Chipotle, Panera and Bills, and their wallets are definitely paying the price. 

“Whenever I want to go out with friends there’s really nothing for us to do but go to Panera and other places like that, which gets expensive really quickly,” says Masuk senior Olivia Cottrell.  

Not every highschool student has a job, and the ones who do rarely make above minimum wage. Going out for food and coffee with friends and constantly spending money just to have something to do is not sustainable, so where are Masuk students supposed to go? 

“I always hear about people just hanging out in parking lots on the weekends. Everything’s closed after like 10 pm so there is just nowhere to go unless you want to use your gas driving to places like Shelton or Fairfield,” says Masuk senior Portia Lisanti. 

I don’t mean to ignore the obvious, obviously Masuk students can just hang out at home with their friends, but even that could get boring pretty quickly. Unless you’re playing a game or doing an activity, it’s hard not to just resort to laying around on your phone, which is why third places are so crucial in the first place. We’ve traded social time for phone time, and without more places to go, teenagers will have no reason to kick their phone habits. 

“I definitely think hanging out is much easier in the summer, since you can spend time outside and go swimming or take walks with your friends, which is free. It’s the winter when it’s harder to find anything to do,” says Masuk senior Alexa Gill.

It seems that for Masuk students, going out on a Saturday night consists of either McDonalds or sitting in a parked car, both unappealing options. Being able to blow off steam and bond with friends in a space outside of home and school enriches your life, so maybe before Monroe gets an O’Reilly Auto Parts, the town should consider implementing a third place. Third places are places like gyms, libraries, movie theatres and bowling alleys. They are places we go to for fun, not out of obligation, and they are crucial in building relationships, fostering a sense of belonging and community, and improving our psychological well-being. 

As a teenager living in Monroe, I can say with certainty that we are extremely lacking in third places. While we do have a gym, you can’t get in without a membership, and a workout isn’t always the most appealing hangout option. We have the library, but it closes on Friday and Saturday by 2 pm and is fully closed on Sundays. 

In terms of coffee shops, while we have a Dunkin, their indoor seating is extremely limited, and the atmosphere inside isn’t optimal for relaxing with friends. While Last Drop Coffee Shop has a nice, homey atmosphere, you have to journey across town to get there. Even if you were willing to make that trek, Last Drop closes daily at 3 pm and shuts down even earlier, at noon, on Sundays. A coffee shop would be the perfect place to catch up and study with friends after school, but by the time Masuk students would make it there, they wouldn’t have enough time to do anything but order a quick coffee. 

To access malls, theatres, bowling alleys and other third places, Monroe residents must travel on the highway. 

The only semblance of a third place that Monroe teenagers and residents have are sit-down and quick-service restaurants. While there is something to be appreciated about connecting with people over a meal, frequent trips to restaurants get expensive quickly, and aren’t optimal for your health. Masuk students are seen frequenting McDonalds, Chipotle, Panera and Bills, and their wallets are definitely paying the price. 

“Whenever I want to go out with friends there’s really nothing for us to do but go to Panera and other places like that, which gets expensive really quickly,” says Masuk senior Olivia Cottrell.  

Not every highschool student has a job, and the ones who do rarely make above minimum wage. Going out for food and coffee with friends and constantly spending money just to have something to do is not sustainable, so where are Masuk students supposed to go? 

“I always hear about people just hanging out in parking lots on the weekends. Everything’s closed after like 10 pm so there is just nowhere to go unless you want to use your gas driving to places like Shelton or Fairfield,” says Masuk senior Portia Lisanti. 

I don’t mean to ignore the obvious, obviously Masuk students can just hang out at home with their friends, but even that could get boring pretty quickly. Unless you’re playing a game or doing an activity, it’s hard not to just resort to laying around on your phone, which is why third places are so crucial in the first place. We’ve traded social time for phone time, and without more places to go, teenagers will have no reason to kick their phone habits. 

“I definitely think hanging out is much easier in the summer, since you can spend time outside and go swimming or take walks with your friends, which is free. It’s the winter when it’s harder to find anything to do,” says Masuk senior Alexa Gill.

It seems that for Masuk students, going out on a Saturday night consists of either McDonalds or sitting in a parked car, both unappealing options. Being able to blow off steam and bond with friends in a space outside of home and school enriches your life, so maybe before Monroe gets an O’Reilly Auto Parts, the town should consider implementing a third place.