As the majestic and dreaded goddess Whoopi Goldberg once said, “I don’t have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation.” I am not entirely sure how applicable or relevant that quote is to this article, but one of my life missions is to quote Whoopi Goldberg as much as possible. Anyways, now that I am finishing my second semester at Northeastern, I can honestly say that I love our university and am happy that I came here. At the same time, there are some things about Northeastern that make me want to douse myself with gasoline and drop a match. With that being said, here are my Husky Pet Peeves that I am sure most, if not all, Northeastern students share.
The fact that half of Northeasetrn students do not know how to cross the street.
Now, I’m not trying to pick on international students because they aren’t the only ones who do this, but it seems like half of the student body is oblivious to the proper way to cross the street. Generally, you wait for the crosswalk light or cross when there are no cars coming. That isn’t the case at Northeastern. Here, people like to cross the street just as the light switches to green and then decide that they can’t make it so they run back. Or better yet, they just stop in the middle of the street and look like a deer in headlights. Also included in this pet peeve, are the people who are too busy texting to look where they are going. I once saw an Asian girl almost get hit by the subway because she was too busy instagramming to pay attention to where she was going.
That one guy in Rebecca’s or Curry who decides it’s okay to take up an entire 5-person table.
This is one pet peeve that makes me want to punch a baby in the face. I don’t know why you think it’s okay to take up an entire table by yourself when my friends and I have nowhere to sit. Take it outside- bring it back to your room, but don’t be that guy who inconveniences everyone else by taking up unnecessary space. Just do what I do when I have no one to eat lunch with- lock yourself in a bathroom stall and cry.
The fact that Northeastern is more competitive than the Hunger Games.
I am aware that one of the main reasons for coming to Northeastern is for its elite co-op program. With that being said, there’s nothing worse than constantly sizing yourself up to some student who has already done 15 internships despite only being a freshman and realizing that you are actually a lot further behind than you originally thought. The Career Fair is actually a little bit like trying to get off the Titanic. At first you’re calm, then you start to panic, there’s a lot of shoving and crying and then you most likely end up dead, all without falling in love with Leonardo DiCaprio and scoring that diamond/sapphire necklace.
The people in Curry who aren’t Northeastern students.
There’s nothing more annoying than trying to work on a project and being interrupted by the group of middle school heathens who somehow found their way into the building and are now running up and down the stairs shouting expletives. Every time I see them I just want to scream, “GO HOME ROGER!” I also once had the pleasant experience of being in a meeting and watching a homeless guy walk into the classroom, mumble something incoherently and walk out with three slices of our pizza. If you’re reading this homeless man, I KNOW YOU STOLE OUR I-CLICKER!
Why the hell do we have 5 million flat screens on campus?
For some reason or another, Northeastern continuously renovates Snell Library and other facilities and sets up more flat screens. I’m glad the school is going with the futuristic vibe but the fact of the matter is, despite all of your renovations you’ve made it impossible for every student to fit in the library. I guess for now I’ll just have to observe the beauty from outside because the chances of finding an open table on the second floor are about as likely as Christina Aguilera becoming relevant again.
Having to awkwardly pretend you know what your international classmates are saying.
I believe diversity is one of the best things Northeastern has to offer and I feel extremely fortunate to be able to go to school with people of different backgrounds and life experiences. However, there is nothing more awkward than having to work on a group project with a student who knows very little English. Instead of getting any work done, you simply spend most of the class trying overly hard to decipher what your classmate is saying and then pretending that you had any idea of what they just said.
The Northeastern Shuffle
For some reason, Northeastern delights in sending its students to fifteen different buildings to solve the simplest of situations. If you have a problem with enrollment, financial aid or any other school related issues, you can be pretty sure that Northeastern will not assist you. Financial Aid will send you to Student Employment who will send you to Curry, who will send you back to Financial Aid who will then send you to the Co-op office. With each visit you will become more confused and frustrated until you finally decide to give up and go to Qdoba to eat your feelings.
The people who clap every time a plate breaks in the dining hall.
We get it- they broke a plate. Let’s move on.