Why I hate that the Starbucks truck now takes meal swipes

I never thought I’d say this but I HATE the Starbucks truck.

I hate it and I wouldn’t care if it drove away and never came back. You see, it wasn’t always like this. Last year I’d wait in a small line of maybe three or four people, willingly spend five dollars on an iced cinnamon almond milk machiatto, and then be on my merry way moments after ordering. Especially because College Avenue cannot get their shit together with having an actual, functioning Starbucks cafe (aside from the knock off one in the Barnes and Noble which doesn’t even make my favorite drink), the Starbucks truck was essential to satisfying my caffeine addiction. It was like a light at the end of a tunnel, pulled over on the side of the road minding its own business, trying to help students get through the semester… until something changed everything.

Despite being a loyal customer that even got a job during her second semester because she spent way too much money on coffee (and basically every restaurant on Easton), Starbucks has betrayed me. Ever since they began accepting meal swipes, I have been forced to choose between being twenty minutes late to class with a latte in my hand, or willingly brave a teleprompter classroom where my virtual professor is teaching a science class (that I only am taking to get a core requirement out of the way) without any help of caffeine at all. So in simpler terms: I either show up late, or I fall asleep. This is a recipe for disaster.

College students run on caffeine. We are awake all night. We have class early in the morning. We need our caffeine, whether we get it in the form of an energy drinks, 5 hour energy, or power naps on the buses. Starbucks, you were always my go to: I needed you, and I depended on you more than anything to help me get through the semester. But things are different now.

I don’t necessarily blame Starbucks. I understand that they are trying to please the student body–I understand that most people are happy with this change, too. And initially, I thought Starbucks accepting meal swipes was the coolest thing ever until the lines became longer and longer. On a day where I was just CRAVING an iced coffee and had nothing better to do, I actually waited in the beating sun for over twenty minutes just to get my hands on some Starbucks. I understand there are much worse problems going on in the world right now, but you also clicked on this link to hear me complain. So let me complain: twenty minutes for a coffee. I hate myself for even wasting my time like that.

Me trying a completely new order (iced green tea latte) after waiting in a fifteen minute line… and overall just feeling blessed because I liked the drink.

Most of all, my heart goes out to the employees trapped in that most likely extremely hot vehicle, working their asses off. They must have nightmares about going to work the next day, making frappuccino after frappuccino (I didn’t know people over the age of 12 still ordered those, but apparently they do) for the entire Rutgers population. Starbucks truck, I hope one day you will get a break. I hope people will get tired of waiting in long lines, just like me, and I hope things will get easier for you.

Until then, I can no longer be late to class for a pumpkin spice latte.