Jasmyn Elliott/Staff Writer
About a year ago, couches began sprouting on the second floor of the Graham Center like daisies, most notably near the Campus Life wing and along the hallway where the FIU Student Media and Student Government Association offices are housed. While some students have used them as a welcome refuge nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the first floor as an opportunity to study, eat lunch, or catch a few winks of sleep, others have used these couches for more unique purposes that have elicited the ire of many student media staffers, including myself.
I am referring to those students who use this newfound seating area as a location for conjugal visits.
I am all for decent public displays of affection, but I find it irritating and awkward when I have to quickly pass a couple engaged in a heavy make-out session as I approach or leave the office. Nothing makes me cringe more than an unwelcome glimpse of some student shoving his or her tongue down the throat of their partner or spooning away as if they are in their bedroom.
I think I can speak for FIU Student Media when I say that such intense displays of affection should be saved for a much more private area, preferably one with four walls, a roof and a door (or doors) that lock.
Granted, before these seating areas were established, the aforementioned offices enjoyed relative seclusion. Very rarely did anyone who didn’t work for or need to visit these departments to take care of a business matter care to venture down this hallway.
However, to those who think that these couches are free from passerby and therefore a perfect place to copulate, I think they should be aware that both divisions of Student Media and SGA have, when put together, well over 50 students working in these respective departments on a regular basis, even more when you take into account writers, copy editors, DJs and student officials.
Many of these students at any time arrive or leave from fulfilling their responsibilities. The last thing any of us want to see during our work day is two students’ near-attempt at making a baby.
Additionally, our annoyance turns to anger when these students have had the audacity to glare at us as we pass along the hallway to get to work. I get the vibe that they have a sense of entitlement to privacy and cannot believe that we have the nerve to encroach upon their make-out session. What they fail to realize that when one decides to do the nasty in a public area with high foot traffic, they will indeed attract an unwelcome audience.
I don’t in any way support or encourage voyeurism. So, to these couples who just can’t keep their hands off each other before or after lunchtime, I urge you to think twice about using the couches along the Campus Life wing as a venue for sexual exploration. You have a right to privacy-so, exercise it properly by going to a truly private area to engage in your dalliances.
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