Beware: pet peeves are everywhere. Graphic by Elizabeth Hein. 

Everyone has pet peeves. Those things that bother you that you cannot control. Everything from slow-walkers to loud chewers, there are countless pet peeves that people latch on to and just cannot stand to experience. Butler is no exception; many people on this campus do things that just rub you the wrong way. The Opinion section has some pet peeves that are campus-specific, and we would like to share them with you all — partly out of the hope that some can reflect on their own actions and realize they are the causes of these annoyances and choose to do better. 

REECE BUTLER | OPINION CO-EDITOR | rmbutler@butler.edu 

Seat thieves 

Imagine you muster up the courage to haul yourself across our sprawling campus only to find that your unassigned assigned seat has been taken by another student. It may seem like an innocent miscalculation as they mentally number the seats to find their typical place, but I can assure you that no one commits this crime unknowingly. Rather, it is at the expense of people like myself, who thrive in subtly mandated structures with severe consequences — such as me vaguely squinting at the thief in question and trudging dramatically to another chair. So the next time you think about stealing someone else’s seat, think again. 

MADDIE WOOD | OPINION CO-EDITOR | mawood1@butler.edu 

Not-so-quiet hours 

Quiet hours are those designated times in residence halls when students are told to keep their noise down so others can have some peace and quiet. Despite these being enforced, residents still cannot wrap their minds around the fact that they must actually be quiet during these times. I mean, it’s quite literally in the name. Courtesy hours are also enforced 24/7, which basically means don’t scream in your room because your beloved football team — that probably didn’t have a chance at winning anyway — lost their game. I understand that it’s college and for some, it’s their first taste of freedom. However, with that freedom also comes responsibility, and recognizing that others have lives around you. I encourage you to still live your best college life but do it when it is not three in the morning and you spontaneously decide to have a desk chair race in the hallway. Please, for the love of all that is good, be quiet. 

MAE-MAE HAN | MANAGING EDITOR | mhan@butler.edu 

Slow walkers 

Surprisingly, I do love the Midwest — well, the same way I love a toxic situationship: convenient, cheap and might be holding me back from where I need to go. And by “holding me back from where I need to go,” I’m calling out you slow walkers. When it’s the middle of the school day, or really any time that I am on campus, I clearly have someplace to be. So, pray tell, why must my peers obstinately and oafishly remain in my ambulatory trajectory? Why must you traverse at a snail’s pace? Do you feel no sense of urgency, no sense of shame? Is your existence so unimportant, so pedestrian, that there is no drive to your stride? Few things fill me with a greater, deeper inner rage than when I am trapped behind a gaggle of slow walkers. I have places to get to. Get out of my way. 

AIDAN GREGG | MANAGING EDITOR | agregg1@butler.edu 

Tabling 

As I bask in the Grecian sun during my study abroad, I feel something deep within my soul calling me to do what I do best: hate. As such, I have returned — albeit briefly — to stir the pot. I am — of course — talking about tabling. When I am 15 minutes late to class, speed walking past the gazebo to Jordan Hall, I don’t need every John Doe from Oozma Kappa trying to sell me a godd*mn hoodie. When I’m fighting for my life right before finals week, waiting in the back of the line at Starbucks, I don’t need SGA’s mental health board telling me to take care of myself. If I am waiting in that line, I’m too far gone for self-care — I need pure caffeine pumped directly in my veins or I will start screaming. 

ELLIOTT ROBINSON | OPINION COLUMNIST | arobinson@butler.edu 

Sick of being stared at 

For many of us, the prickle of unwanted eyes is only a minor disruption to an otherwise carefree day. But after three and a half years as a Butler student, I can confidently say that this campus clearly suffers from a staring epidemic. Now, it’s true that I’ve always had an affinity for alternative clothing, and I’m fully aware of just how much I stand out in a sea of sockless Adidas slides and men who revere khakis as high fashion. But I also believe that there’s a difference between noticing the way that someone looks, and scrutinizing them for several uncomfortable seconds. And unfortunately, Butler students engage far too often in the latter. So the next time you see someone striding across campus in a mini-skirt and six-inch platform boots, try to keep the staring to a minimum. It’s just basic human decency, after all. 

SARA CAINS | OPINION COLUMNIST | scains@butler.edu 

“Prominent not dominant” Greek life 

On the first day of school, this girl who happened to sit by me, asked me if I was planning to join a sorority after I told her I’m a first-year student. When I said no, the conversation should have ended there. However, this girl goes on for three to five minutes telling me about her sorority and how awesome and fun it is to be in one. Then she proceeds to tell me I should sign up for one during Block Party. If I had any intent to join a sorority, this definitely made me throw that idea out the window. It would’ve been completely different if I had replied and said, “I’m thinking about it.” But if I say no and go back to reading my book or watching reels on my phone, I expect the conversation to end, or even change subject. Call me bitter, but I really dislike unwarranted and useless information. 

ABIGAIL RUBLE | OPINION COLUMNIST | amruble@butler.edu 

Backpack assaults 

I myself have a very large backpack and understand how it can get in the way sometimes, but some people seem not to understand that they have a pregnancy bump on their back. Watching where you are standing is not that hard, especially in line for things. Starbucks has even put signs out for patrons because of the excessive backpack assaults that happen in line — especially to all of the seasonal cups. When I walk through Jordan Hall — my home away from home at this point — I feel attacked by backpacks everywhere. Where am I and my big backpack supposed to exist? I am but a little girl in a backpack blocking world. If you need to be briefed on your friend groups’ latest drama, get to the side or wait in the Starbucks line — you’ll have plenty of time there. 

ANNA GRITZENBACH | OPINION COLUMNIST | agritzenbach@butler.edu 

Sidewalk manners 

Picture this, I’m booking it to class. I feel like Bryan Cranston in “Malcolm in the Middle”. But, a roadblock materializes in front of me: a chain of students, shoulder-to-shoulder, six people wide. Why am I expected to break my stride to pass? There are many people on this campus who lack sidewalk manners: bikers and scooters that fly past walkers with no alert, people moving on the wrong side of the sidewalk and groups conversing in the middle of the path. It should not be this hard to have a little bit of spatial awareness and courtesy to those around you. Perhaps Butler should offer a core course called “Sidewalk Ed: The Rules and Regulations of the Sidewalk” because a lot of you need to enroll. 

AIDAN HARPER SMITH | OPINION COLUMNIST | ahsmith4@butler.edu 

Talking in class 

I like to talk, but only when it is my turn. It’s astounding to me that some people out there just don’t get that. It’s like they got amnesia after first grade, and now they flap their gums while the professor is talking. If I could have one superpower it would be to control people’s dreams. In those class-talkers’ dreams, I would take them back to elementary school, have them talk in class and then have the teacher absolutely scream at them about their disrespect while the class points and laughs at them. I would have it repeat every other day — for a false sense of security — until they stopped talking during lectures. Oh, and I would have the teacher’s head get slightly bigger and more lizard-like every time. With threats about eating them. Too much? 

SAM HAGGARTY | OPINION COLUMNIST | shaggarty@butler.edu 

Your major is not that special 

Man, classes can be tough. Don’t you ever wish you were just another major so you wouldn’t have to worry about doing work? After all, only your major has homework and only your major requires actual intelligence. Wait, your hyper-difficult major that nobody outside of it could possibly begin to understand is done by other people too? You aren’t some product of a brain trust sent here to be one of the few to hold such difficult and niche knowledge? But at least you aren’t one of those easy majors. F*ck them, right? I’m glad you are proud of your work, but be honest with yourself — it isn’t that everyone else cannot do it, they just didn’t want to, for the same reason you are not in their classes.