Mapping out the D.C.’s unofficial assigned seating
Julie Conlon
Student Life Editor
In the 2004 American teen hit comedy, “Mean Girls,” characters Janis and Damien give new girl Cady Heron a social-guide map to their cafeteria. The map is based off of cliques and groups that always sit together for lunch. For example, the map shows a table of JV jocks and Varsity jocks, freshman, sexually-active band geeks, girls who don’t eat anything, girls who eat their feelings—etc. The point is Cady is informed that the same groups of people always sit in the same spots everyday. Students at Keene State College who eat in the Zorn Dining Commons said they too stick to eating in the same area with the same people when they dine. Senior Annie Schelble said she and her friends always sit in the general area by the salad bar. “We’ve been sitting here since freshman year. I don’t know why we do it though, I just feel weird if I don’t sit in this spot,” she said. Schelbe said she’s noticed people tend to sit in the same areas each day—particularly the sports teams. Schelble said once she sat near the area the lacrosse team inhabits, by the ice cream, and she felt uncomfortable. “I felt like I was invading somebody else’s space,” she said.
Emma Contic / Graphics Editor
Matt Casey, a senior, similarly said he sits with his friends in the same spot for dinner, near the salad and the main line. “I think it’s convenient. It’s where we always sit. People always walk by us so we can say hi,” he said. Senior Ryan Juneau agreed, “This is the general area where I usually sit. This is just where everyone sits.” Senior Chris Morin added that since the D.C. is generally busy in the evening, he looks for an open table anywhere, but said he prefers sitting in the main area versus by the stairs. “It’s convenient to everything,” he said. While we may not fall under the rule that we can only wear pink on Wednesdays, our hair in a ponytail one day a week and jeans or track pants on Friday, KSC students do prove to follow some unofficial rule of habit at least when it comes to their D.C. dining choice of seating.
Julie Conlon can be contacted at
jconlon@keene-equinox.com
