By Anna Meany–
God bless those who are productive at the library. If you can concentrate despite the giggling, pencil tapping and unnecessary abuse of laptop keys, you deserve a medal. It’s post-midterm time and I think we’re all happy to have gained our souls back from the library.
Club Ekstrom may be the most bumping place on campus after the gym closes. The 24-hour study availability gives students a social alternative to their dorm rooms and supposedly a place to study. It’s a place of serenity to escape crazy roommates, congregate in study groups and conduct research. And I’m not about to deal with the cackling hyenas that invaded my study room yesterday.
It was this incident that made me livid and got me thinking about library disturbances. It’s the seemingly unreachable notes of a girl’s high-pitched laugh that make you glare at her. I’ve seen others giving the glare. This glare is a one-of-a-kind, hateful look that only the most studious of students deliver. They probably won’t notice because, like everyone else, their noses are stuck in Facebook.
If I can hear your fuzzy music through your headphones, those around you are being annoyed. What bothers me the most is that I’ve been and still am that annoying girl who finds everything funny and has a need to shout in the library. Last time I went to the library, we spent a great deal of time playing Backstreet Boys songs loudly and tweeting. At some point, all of us are that obnoxious girl.
Don’t let me single out the ladies. Dudes feel an unreasonable need to be loud in Club Ekstrom, too. That annoying bro laugh when you find something funny on Stumbled Upon is cacophonous to everyone else. Really, how much fun can you have at the library?
It takes a lot of willpower to avoid making a huge scene in the library. Most students deal with library madness by moving. Unfortunately, it’s the easiest solution when glaring doesn’t quite give the hint. Not to mention, asking them to be quiet labels you as the library Grandma. We’re all especially crabby during midterms and finals, when we’re giving up sleep to spend the last few days of school studying. Listening to music, laughing\ and having conversations with friends at unnecessary volumes all contribute to the dull roar of Ekstrom. Compared to the awkward and uncomfortable silence of a library, any sound seems to be amplified with a megaphone. So please, be courteous and respect the unspoken rules of the library.
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Photo: Nathan Dougless/The Louisville Cardinal
