I stay away from the Pods in the library as much as possible because when I enter, I instantly get a headache and become the word that rhymes with “witch.” Yes, that one.

It’s true that the Pods section of the library has been expanded and there are more computers available; yet somehow it feels like it is even more packed than last year. It takes me 15 minutes to half an hour to find a free computer, and with the mass of people, like vultures, waiting with me, it can get frustrating.

If students have laptops, why are there so many people occupying the Pods? I only go to print out lecture slides or papers. I would never be able to type up a paper there unless it was an emergency — I doubt that the atmosphere there is accommodating with all the noise. (Then again, I suppose some people work better in a noisy atmosphere.)

Let’s say that all these people who work in the library have broken laptops or might not even have a laptop; that’s understandable. It gives them reason to be there. However, it doesn’t excuse those pricks who go on the Pods for other reasons: Facebook, MySpace or just to play games. I’m sure you’ve encountered these individuals; they’re the ones who know people are waiting for a computer, but they like to waste your time anyway by using the computer for asinine reasons. I suppose it’s not as bad as having someone who saves the pod by leaving their belongings there; they aren’t even there to use the computer. Am I crazy for wanting to chuck their things in the trash bin?

Of course, then there are the printing lines that are up the wazoo. It takes longer to wait on the lines than to actually print what you need. With all the new computers, I was hoping for more printing stations, though the duplex printing stations do help and are at least environmentally friendly.

What really makes me blow steam is when individuals print out 50 pages, all at once, during the middle of the day, which so happens to be the busiest time of day. Sure, there are unsympathetic professors who assign such immense readings online, but you can print it in little bits at a time. After all, while this individual is printing all of this, you’re probably standing behind him or her waiting to print out one or two pages. Just one or two pages!

Additionally, when even the express printing lines are as long as the lines to print, you begin to think the whole situation is ludicrous. They’re express lines for a reason. And I’m not complaining about people in the express line — I’m complaining about how all the Pods being occupied for idiotic reasons affects even the express lines, because then people who may need more than just printing end up having to edit and print there.

Thank god for the Pods in the communities; there are less people and the printers there are likely to have better ink.

So please, stop clogging up the library Pods and go to the other Pods in the library, there are some in the Newcomb Reading Room and in Library North Ground basement. Better yet: go to the Pods in your community — they’re quieter and have fewer word-that-rhymes-with-witch-es like me.