While Iowa State provides a comfortable and cozy place for the students, faculty members and everyone else at Iowa State to enjoy their cups of coffee and meals, there are just some people who I believe to be completely ignorant and misusing this privilege. I am speaking about the rather sad and angry experience I had while enjoying my very hot cup of coffee at Caribou Coffee, located in front of the library.

I was sitting there enjoying my coffee while reading when I realized the crowd in the cafe was getting bigger. I saw people walking around holding their trays of food while looking for seat. I got up and offered my seat to one of them. However, to my surprise, I was the only one who got up. The others continued reading, chit-chatting or simply staring into the air. They just wouldn’t get up and offer their seat.

I do understand the location of the cafe is rather strategically located, which makes it very convenient for a lot of us to make a quick stop in between classes to grab some food, but how can we be so naive of our senses and ignore our surroundings? Are we really that blind not to notice there are people looking for seats while holding their trays of food? Or are we playing innocent, pretending to not notice and therefore not caring?

There are appropriate places provided by the college that can be used for discussion or reading such as the library or any empty classrooms. A crowded cafe is simply just not one of them. I do understand that everyone reserves his or her very own right to a seat for as long as one likes in the cafe, but are we simply going to do that when there are people who need the seats more we do? Do we ever consider for one moment that the particular individual might be in a hurry, for instance rushing for an exam after his meal? Does he have the time to walk around the cafe looking for a place to sit or maybe wait till someone leaves the cafe?

Where did all of our courtesy go? Are we going to be that inconsiderate and selfish? To those people who sit around the cafe for as long as you like, put yourself in their shoes. Do you want to be treated the same way walking around with your tray of food while looking for a seat?