Since submitting my last op-ed, I was absolutely certain that this one was going to be about voting/Paul Hodes/something involving Nov. 7 and the important choices we all have to make on that day. However, just a short while ago, as I wasted away my Sunday on the fourth floor of Berry Library, the fate of this column was changed forever.
I was just informed by an unnamed female (mostly unnamed because I do not know her name) here in the library that although she is sure I'm a nice person (they always need to throw in the backhanded compliment), I reminded her of a dog with the noise I was making. The library is obviously meant to be quiet, but I thought she had taken it a bit far. My suspicion was confirmed just a minute or two later, when I received a BlitzMail message titled "that woman was..." with the content of the message, "CRAZY!!!" After my demoralization at the mouth of my unknown assailant, it was nice to have some normal, reassuring words. I came to the library to do work, not to be verbally berated.
But the point of this column is not to embarrass myself (I do that regularly enough, anyway). I know I am not a particularly quiet person, and while I try to tone myself down, it does not always work out as well as I would have hoped. My point is that people in the library need to take themselves less seriously. There are quieter spaces in the library than fourth floor Berry, and I do not need dirty looks and patronizing comments every time I happen to make some noise. If I wanted that, I would live in East Wheelock. If I were having a birthday celebration in the library, complete with singing, cake and candles, it might be a bit excessive. We all have conversations in the library, some people more often than others (I am guilty as charged), but there is still a general code of civility that goes with it.
The library is for work, and sometimes people can get a bit rowdy. A simple, "I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please be a tad quieter?" would be perfectly understandable and something I would take into account. An insult is, of course, one of the worst ways to get a point across, and were I only slightly more vindictive, I would just be loud in order to annoy this person. I feel like an op-ed will have to suffice. For the most part, I don't take myself as seriously as the average person, so maybe I don't understand where someone has the hostility to verbally admonish a complete stranger over noise in the library.
We have come to that point in the term where we are all stressed from the unhealthy amounts of papers/midterms/reading/other commitments, but the last thing we need to do is take it out on each other. Just after the above incident, someone passed through Berry apparently attempting to sell credit cards to everyone he knew. While I was puzzled at what magnitude of credit card sales one would think possible in the library with impoverished college students on a Sunday afternoon, the thought did not even enter my mind to snap at him. I have seen shot fairies in the library from time to time, and no one ever complains about them. They may be a bit more welcome, but it still can be disruptive to everyone else around.
At this point, I want to lay out a few ground rules for library conduct. 1) When you hear someone making noise, take a deep breath, cool your head, and give it a couple minutes. 2) If it still continues, ask yourself if the person is actually being too loud, or if you're just taking things a little too personally. If you get through No. 2 and the noise is still too much, you're unquestionably within your rights to make a polite request for some quiet. If the person will not listen, a second polite request should be given, something to the tune of "I'm really sorry ... but you're being a little loud." If things don't stop, then feel free to do or say whatever you want. If someone is repeatedly rude after being warned, they deserve whatever punishment you want to give them. I would just ask everyone to exercise caution with their library etiquette.
After all, Hanover is a small town, and Dartmouth is a small school, so we are all bound to see each other again sometime soon. Being civil makes all of that easier.
