These Lancaster Uni things shouldn’t be embarrassing but they really are

The pain of walking into a lecture late is second to none x

1 year ago

Despite what anyone tells you, most of us spend a significant amount of our mental energy on avoiding embarrassing moments in our day-to-day life. Some of these moments are normal; nobody wants to trip down the Alex Square steps or answer a question completely wrong in a hundred-person lecture, but there are some moments that are so inexplicably embarrassing that you can’t even begin to rationalise them.

From walking down the stairs on the 100 to having to experience the cosmic horror that’s Bowland North, here are just a few examples of the most needlessly embarrassing moments in Lancs. Even the most confident of Lancaster students aren’t immune to feeling at least a little red-faced when they experience these.

Stepping forward for a Costa drink that isn’t yours

It’s an honest, innocent mistake. I mean, the number of lattes that the baristas make in a day must be bonkers. But it never stops feeling painful, mainly because of the number of eyes on you.

Walking through the Learning Zone

Lovely, open-plan, and airy: all words that can be used to describe the Learning Zone. Mimicking a catwalk: also a phrase that can be applied to the Learning Zone. All eyes are on you as you strut your stuff down the walkway, with the sofas facing you, and if you aren’t a fan of the attention, it’s just painful.

Kicking someone out of a group study space in the library

It is, in all honesty, your study space. You have booked it, and fifteen minutes later, they’re still sitting in there. You’ve got to kick them out. You need to start your group work. But nothing will ever feel as awkward as knocking on that door and explaining that they have to leave now.

Walking into a lecture late

The door at the back of Faraday opens and echoes (and I mean literally echoes) around the room, and everyone looks at you, despite the fact that you aren’t even late, the lecture hasn’t started, you just weren’t early like the rest of the try-hards who are already sat down. It’s not your fault you had another class. And yet somehow it still manages to be mortifying.

Struggling to find somewhere to sit in the library

Everyone knows the pain: you think you see a space, only to discover that there are bags there. It ends up being a long trek round and round each floor to find somewhere to sit, sometimes past the same people multiple times. By the time you finally sit down, you’re cringing so hard you just want to crawl under the table you’ve found.

Having to go back downstairs on the bus because there are no seats upstairs

There are seats downstairs, of course, you’d just rather not sit next to anyone if you can help it. But there are none at all upstairs, and you have to navigate going down the stairs on a moving bus with all of those eyes on you. Bonus points if you fall down the stairs on your way.

Crying in the library

Crying is therapeutic and feels great. It’s a healthy coping mechanism and very good for you, both emotionally and physically. However, crying in the library has to be done quietly, you don’t want to bother anyone else on C floor with your heaving sobs, and subtly, so that the people on the desk opposite you aren’t totally terrified. Best just to run to the bathroom, maybe.

Bowland North seminar rooms

Just, like, the whole experience.

Seriously, Bowland North is a maze. I am convinced the numbers don’t go in a logical order because you think you enter near your room and end up on the complete opposite side from where you started. Is it a time loop? Do we have a wormhole?

The little dance to get around someone on the Spine

Are they going to go to the left? Are they going to go to the right? You interpret it wrong and you are nose-to-nose with a stranger, and doing a funny little dance where you try to decide who is going which way. It’s painful to watch and even worse to be in.

Not having the answer when someone asks you for directions

This is fine when you’re a first year. But by second, or god forbid even third year, it can be mortifying to not know where a room is when someone asks, even if you’ve got no reason to know.