As I sit here in the Falvey Library attempting in vain to get some of my work done before the coming week, I have discovered a vital flaw to the age-old theory behind working in the library. In high school there was always someone watching over you as you worked in the library, to ensure that nobody made noise or disrupted the other students; the collegiate system is one based more so on mutual trust, an honor system if you will.

I started writing my paper for Prof. Gabova’s Intro to Philosophy, around an hour ago on the second level of the library, signs were posted all over to remind us that the second floor was a quiet study area, naturally, I assumed that such an area would make an ideal location for my studies, this was obviously a mistake. The second floor soon became crowded, and filled with the sounds of conversations, giggling, and even one gentleman singing the George Michael hit “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”. Seeing as how that location was obviously inadequate for my purposes, I packed up my books and laptop and moved up one floor.

The third floor of the library is littered with signs proclaiming it to be a silent study area; silent being a better deal than quiet, I decided to boot up my laptop and give my paper another try. Within minutes of opening Microsoft Word, however, I was rudely disrupted by the sounds of a cell phone ringing. Was it impossible for the young lady that this phone belonged to to set it to silent operation? Perhaps she could have left the silent study area to take her call rather than to have an extended conversation about how much it costs to take a weekend trip to Las Vegas? Failing either of those, it would have been nice for her to realize the disruption that that first phone call had caused and not answered the second one that came shortly after.

It is from tonight’s events that I must conclude that the sense of honor and politeness is far from being as developed, as it should be on a college campus. Should we not keep in mind the golden rule? Maybe this is a commentary on society in general, People complain about wars and unrest in the world, but how can we avoid war when we cannot even treat each other with a bit of respect?

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