It happened last winter at Loyola’s Vanier Library. It was finals week, and I was swamped with assignments and readings. Knowing that student lounges and coffee shops can get pretty noisy, I made my way to the library.
For the ones who don’t know, or should probably be reminded, a library is a quiet place where people go to read and study. One of this establishment’s sacred rules is not to bring any food inside. Most of the time, people go along with such rules. As I made my way to a seat on that fateful day, I realized how naive I was.
While I was trying my best to do my homework, this abominable sound echoes in the background. It started off with what I assume was someone opening a container, followed by the most horrendous chewing sounds I have ever heard in my entire life. It could only be described as a starving cow shoving its face into a creamy bowl of noodles. To make the whole situation worse, there was a very strong smell that accompanied the sounds. So it was both a treat for your ears and nose.
Even though this is one of my top pet peeves, I’m normally pretty patient when it comes to someone’s lack of classy eating habits in public. Since eateries are already noisy to begin with, I can try my best to talk as loudly as possible in order to muffle the smacking. But in a library? Seriously? Did you honestly think no one was going to hear that? I’m happy for the students who can actually do any type of school work while listening to their iPods. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, there’s no hope.
It’s understandable if you’re nibbling on a granola bar because, let’s face it – you could be sitting in there doing work for hours. But I can’t guarantee you’re not going to get punched in the throat if you’re smacking your lips and fingers over a Lean Cuisine plate. You’re only asking for it at that point. The fact that you thought it was appropriate to bring that in a library as a nice light snack in the first place raises some serious questions.
So please, if you don’t want to face the wrath of the other overloaded students around you, take those questionable meals somewhere else.
Comments are closed.