Stages of Trying to Find a Seat at a BU Dining Hall

When you go to a school with over 30,000 students sometimes the simple act of finding a lunch spot can feel as intense as a hunt to find food out in the wild. Especially during the peak meal hours between classes, BU students have learned that swiping into the dining hall requires some careful strategy. 

1. Swiping in straight from class starving, but knowing that if you don’t find a seat before grabbing food you’ll be walking around hopelessly for fifteen minutes carrying a bowl of soggy cereal.

2. Wandering around in circles on both the top and bottom floors of Bay State, scanning every possible corner for a vacancy, and hoping President Brown invests some of next year’s tuition increases in some longer tables.

3. Glaring at that kid eating alone in the middle of a giant booth for 40 minutes with nothing but a single glass of Pepsi.

4. Getting desperate and deciding to hover near a person who looks like they’re almost ready to leave so you can swoop in grab their spot.

5. Making competitive eye contact with someone who also had the same hover-strategy idea and is going to try and steal your potential table if you dare hesitate.

6. Sprinting over the second someone clears their plate and immediately draping your coat and book-bag on a chair to clearly mark your territory.

7.  Finally grabbing a plate heading over to a food station: VICTORIOUS

So if you’re planning to hit up Warren at noon, just remember, it’s survival of the fittest. 

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