CURE Sound Project: Study in Silence?

Authors

• Quezia Abrao, St. Mary's University
• Deeya Bhadresa, St. Mary's University
• Elisa Castro, St. Mary's University
• Fiona Coulbourne, St. Mary's University
• Carlos Flores, St. Mary's University
• Lizzeth Holguin, St. Mary's University
• Lazarus Maldonado, St. Mary's University
• Jeremy Mares, St. Mary's University
• Andrew Martini, St. Mary's University
• Nicole Matthews, St. Mary's University
• Katherine Montero, St. Mary's University
• Mariana Reyes, St. Mary's University
• Jacob Rodriguez, St. Mary's University
• Julieta Ruiz, St. Mary's University
• Eliana Sanchez, St. Mary's University
• Gabriela Varela, St. Mary's University

Files

Contributor

Greene, Patrick (Faculty Mentor); Rightshell, Chris (Faculty Mentor)

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Keywords

Sound levels, Decibels, St. Mary's University Campus, Study Areas, Baseline studies

Description

Difference in sound levels in study areas across campus can affect students’ ability to work and learn efficiently 1.

According to the WHO, safe sound levels are measured to be around 70dB 2. Some study areas on campus experience sound levels exceeding the safe threshold. Unsafe sound levels are considered to be at or above 85dB 3. These unsafe and excessive noise levels negatively affect a student’s ability to concentrate and work efficiently which correlates to a decrease in class performance, attention deficits, and stress 4.

This study aims to get a base-line measurement of dB levels in common study spaces throughout the campus and compare these measured values to the recommended thresholds.

Format

pdf

Size

1 poster

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.