The crowded ascending elevator comes to an abrupt halt as a violent ding commands the doors to open on the second floor of McMahon Hall. A girl with a backpack hanging off one shoulder steps into the elevator and hits the fifth floor. The doors close as she proceeds to take out her iPhone and look down at it. Little does she know that right behind her, a crowd of upperclassmen are staring at the back of her head with angry eyes, unhappy with the fact that she’s taking the elevator up three floors. Some furrow their brows while others roll their eyes; this action is a carnal sin at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC).  A minute later, the doors open, and the girl scurries out with iPhone in hand and leaves the rest of the upperclassmen having to endure extra elevator time on their journey up through McMahon Hall. 

This situation is perhaps the most obvious pet peeve at FCLC, for we depend on our elevators to get us to where we need to be at the very moment we need to be there. Pet peeves lurk around every corner at FCLC and slither through the creaks and cracks of every student’s experience here. I asked students what their worst FCLC pet peeves were, and this is what they said: 

FCLC Pet Peeve #1: The Library

Jalen Glenn FCLC ’16 says that his pet peeve would definitely have to be the library. “It’s too small, and it doesn’t have any windows,” Glenn said. Glenn agreed that students would be more eager to spend time in the space if it had a better set up and a different location. As a worker in the law school library, Glenn said that “it’s perfect. There are windows, study rooms, outlets in convenient places, and above all, a café. Quinn is sorely lacking in providing an inviting place to study, so I think it should move into the old law school library.” 

FCLC Pet Peeve #2: Wi-Fi Connection 

The be all end all of our technologically driven lives! When asked what her biggest FCLC Pet Peeve is, Gloria Bassani FCLC ’16, remarked with a furrowed brow and zero hesitation, “the Wi-Fi!” Bassani notes that it is custom to have to turn her Wifi on and off consistently until she finally gets connected. Bassani said that whenever this happens, “it takes [her] nearly 15 minutes to get everything working up to speed.” Connecting to the Wi-Fi at FCLC is like playing a game of Russian Roulette, constantly uncertain of what you’re going to get.  “IT needs to figure out a better way to handle this” Bassani said. 

FCLC Pet Peeve #3: Laundry Rooms and Hot Temperatures

The horror story of every FCLC student: leaving your clothing in the dryer for 10 minutes too long and coming back to discover that someone has pulled it out and thrown it on top of a washer. Director of Public Relations for the Residential Housing Association in McMahon Nate Coffey, FCLC ’16, said that his biggest pet peeve is when “people move your stuff” in the laundry room. It’s understandable that you have the responsibility of timing your laundry and not leave it there for hours, but when someone pulls out your clothes toward the end of a dryer cycle, it’s not okay. This is a pretty inevitable feat, but Coffey agreed that students should be more aware and respectful of other people’s items. 

There are also issues amongst utilities in McKeon Hall as well.  “It took me three hours to do my laundry last night,” Annuziata Santelli , FCLC ’18 said. It is important to note that these laundry machines located on the 11th floor of McKeon are brand new. Santelli continued, “The washing machines wouldn’t rinse my clothes so I had to keep putting them back in.” Santelli also said that there is trouble with the heat in her dorm room and that it is extremely sporadic. These heating systems, like the laundry machines, are brand new as well, so it is troubling that there are already many kinks to work out. 

FCLC Pet Peeve #4: Commuters visiting McMahon and Inconvenient Club Hours

A sophomore and commuter from Queens, New York, Melissa Alamilla ’17 says her biggest pet peeve at FCLC would have to be “the policy about commuters signing into McMahon Hall.” Frustrated, Alamilla argued that it is unfair that commuter freshmen are allowed into the building with a sticker, while the rest of the underclassmen and upperclassmen have to be signed in traditionally. It brings up a good question: Why are only freshman commuters allowed to use the study and soft lounges in McMahon Hall when it is an upperclassmen residence hall? 

Additionally, Alamilla noted that another one of her pet peeves is the “fact that popular clubs do not meet during the allotted club meeting blocks on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.” This especially obstructs an FCLC commuter’s ability to participate in and attend clubs like Amnesty International or Soccer Club, especially because these meetings are held during the evening hours when trains and bus schedules do not run as often. In order to change these peeves, Alamilla agreed that Office of Residential Life should create stickers for all commuting students, and clubs should start using the midday block. 

FCLC Pet Peeve #5: Vending Machines

When asked his biggest pet peeve of FCLC, George Kostal, FCLC ’16 stated that it would have to be that “there are no regular Skittles in the 14th Floor Lounge vending machine in McMahon Hall, just Wild Berry.” Perhaps not as pressing as other pet peeves, it still should be noted that snack variety is very important to any hungered and hard-working college student. When asked how he thinks this should be fixed, Kostal replied, “The student body should make administration aware of this, and hopefully they can contact whoever runs our vending services.”