As midterms are coming up (or have already been taken in some classes), more students are utilizing Roesch Library to focus on doing well on their mid-semester exams. This results in more traffic on the elevators and stairs.
Isn’t it great when you’re in the zone heading into the library, you get on the elevator to head up to the sixth floor, and then someone gets on and asks you to “hit two” for them? Obviously, if he/she is not able to physically walk up one flight of stairs, you smile and gladly push that button.
But if they are able-bodied, a ball of anger shoots into your stomach and you want to ask them what is so wrong with their legs. Is it really that difficult to walk up one flight of stairs? No. No it is not, but it is certainly inconvenient for the other people on the ride up.
I was once heading to the second floor and almost got in the elevator. When I snapped out of it and realized what I was doing, I wanted to kick myself between the legs for even thinking of taking the elevator up one floor.
Another pet peeve of mine is when I finally get to the sixth floor (the silent floor) and I’m on a roll, burning through chapters and working through practice problems at a rapid pace, when all of a sudden I hear loud laughter and conversation as if it is a construction site.
It’s the silent floor for a reason.
Students should be able to go up there and expect that there will be silence. It is not the floor for group projects, meeting up to watch YouTube videos or eating chips. Go to the first floor, second floor or the LTC if you’re going to make noise.
Between going up one floor on the elevator and making noises that would wake up a hibernating bear, a person can really throw a student out of their studying groove without even knowing they are violating rules of etiquette.
If you are being bothered by one of these things, no one will blame you for speaking up and ceasing such behavior. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing the presence of a problem in the first place. Help these inconsiderate people by disallowing them to continue acting so insensitively.
And that, my friends, is what really grinds my gears.
