Eating in the library is our right, not a privilege

I had to go home to write this, because I wanted to eat my orange

birmingham guild library Mason lounge new library the tab the tab bham the tab birmingham the tab brum university of birmingham UoB

It’s outrageous that we are now having to vote to eat and drink in our own library – it’s not exactly a big ask. The consumption of well-needed nutrients  is a basic right, especially in our most popular study place. It’s pretty commendable really, we’ve actually got ourselves to the library to study. So c’mon, here’s the deal – we’re being good students, let us eat.

Wanting to eat means we lose our seat 

It’s hard enough to secure a good library seat (don’t get me started if you’re trying to save one for your mate too). We’ve been studying for 3 hours, we don’t need the added pressure of taking risks – do we leave it to our library book and pen to save our seat, or do we take everything because we’re too scared of laptop thieves, only to then rush back to find our place stolen? Deadlines are our pressure. We don’t need another one from the library authorities who walk around and tell us to put the minstrels away. They interrupt our essay, make us feel embarrassed, and punish us… for eating.

Food is too expensive to rush, and it’s cold

We’re students – so the £3.25 panini from Costa we just bought was a rip off as it is, so if it’s okay with you, we’d like to be able to enjoy it. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to eat inside the building, I mean it’s November so we will freeze outside. Plus, Costa’s signature move of the Christmas hot chocolate is here, and I refuse to rush it.

Fuck you

We pay for it

We get that it cost millions to build, but we’re paying thousands – £9,000 a year in fact – to be here. So at least let us be able to make the most of the service. We pay for our food, we pay for our accommodation and we pay for our educators – and now we’re not allowed to take our coffee into the library?

We can eat in other study spaces, why not the library?

Let’s not forget that there are computers in Mason Lounge and we’re allowed food in there. They get it, what’s so different about the library? We need the library to study, we promise. See for yourself, one look in Mason Lounge will prove that we do work hard. So work with us and say yes to food.

Not a problem in the Mason Lounge

If we eat, we’ll do well

Did you know that dark chocolate with over 70% cocoa in it can help boost your concentration levels? Well, now you do. But it doesn’t matter anyway, because you can’t eat it in the library. It’s not like we’re being petty, ‘hangry’ students. I mean, there’s scientific research that proves there is a food to help us do well. If we’re going to have a fighting chance of success in the real world, we need a bloody good degree result. I can picture the interview now – “You got a third at university?” “Yeah, they wouldn’t let me have my Jaffa cakes in the library so I struggled on my last exam”. Let us eat, and we’ll make the uni look great on results day. Do you want us to fail?