I have a cool job. I interact with students who I like everyday. I like most of my co-workers. I hear about campus happenings that I would otherwise miss. I have Fridays off.
Having an on-campus job comes with the perks of working within my class schedule. It only takes me two to five minutes to walk from class to work, and vice versa. My friends like to stop by every now and then. It’s nice of them, even if they can’t take the hint to leave after two minutes. I like my job. There’s just one slight problem: I hate working in the Student Life Center.
Let’s take it back about three years. The SLC was known as the Campus Activities Center, which had a gymnasium and offices tucked away in the back, and to my knowledge, that was about it.
The CAC has since been remodeled into the SLC, which made it more visually appealing and definitely more useful to students. But here’s the thing, voices carry like in a gym. That’s a trait the SLC didn’t lose in the remodel. So now I’m in a building filled with many different voices that carry all around the first floor. I feel like I’m the only person that notices.
Imagine you’re taking a test in a Davis Hall classroom. The classroom itself is silent, but the classroom next door isn’t. Not to mention, you can hear other students in the hallway walking by. So of course you’re sitting next to a wall right by the door. It’s mildly annoying at first, but your frustration just builds. Now imagine that frustration building for at least a dozen hours every week since January. I would compare working in the SLC to that. It’s what I like to call the SLC echo.
A familiar occurrence: two students are walking in different directions, they make eye contact, they recognize each other and stop to talk. This happens right outside the office I work in, right in my line of sight. It can be a 30-second catch up, it can be a conversation lasting two minutes, but it can also be a 30-minute conversation that makes me wonder why these two individuals just hadn’t gotten a room.
The building’s furniture layout also screams “sit anywhere and socialize!” From where I sit, that is the worst thing anyone could do. I’ve witnessed therapy and venting sessions. I’ve learned to distinguish between the two. I listened to someone explain what the term “jailbait” means. I’ve heard guys unsuccessfully hit on girls. I’ve heard poor attempts at hitting on girls miraculously work. I even saw a person jump in the air and clap their feet together cheering out of excitement three times in a row. Who does that? It was like watching “Looney Toons.”
Then there’s the piano in the student lounge, that stupid piano that students love to play the exact same songs on everyday. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” the main theme song of “The Office” and Ceelo Green’s “Forget You.” I’ve heard it all.
I’ll acknowledge that my complaint is a selfish one. I’m not going to act like it isn’t. People deal with worse things on an hourly basis. It’s the very definition of a first world problem. There’s no reason anyone can’t walk and talk around the SLC building. I just wish people were more considerate of their surroundings.
Matt is a senior majoring in mass communications and is also the entertainment critic. He can be reached at matthew17@mail.usf.edu
