In between classes, students begin to fill
up Hawks Nest, the popular on-campus dining area that has multiple options for
food. You can smell the aroma of Subway and Chick-fil-a as soon as 11 a.m.
turns on the clock and Hawks Nest starts preparing for the routinely busy rush
hour.
Industrial sounds, like metal beating
against metal, are heard from the kitchen where workers are preparing the food
in the back. Aramark workers switch out the food from breakfast to lunch, which will be ready
for ordering and for grab-and-go. Other workers walk around the dining floors
to wipe down the tables and sweep up the floors from breakfast messes. Brooms
make a thud as they continuously come in contact with the broom pan when many
workers are tidying up the sitting areas. This daily routine ensures that Hawks
Nest is prepared for the mass of hungry students.
The doors that lead from outside squeak
as they swing open, letting in an abundance of students at one time. People
either head to Subway or to the main food court for lunch. Many students linger
the sound of boots clicking as they hit the ground in a repetitive pattern. Some
students bare the look of worry, assumingly to get lunch in enough time before class
begins; others look around watchfully in search of meeting friends for a sit
down lunch. Nearly every student that passes by carries a book bag on their
back, which is packed full of the necessities for class.
The main area where all of the food
options are located overflows with students that are trying to push their way
through to whichever vendor catches their attention first. People then make
their way to the seemingly never-ending lines at the registers. Once they have
made it through checkout, students glance around in search for whomever they
are meeting or for the best seat to enjoy lunch at. There’s a jangling sound of
the spring when students push the button to get a spoon, fork or knife from the
utensil dispensers before taking his or her seat.
Once people take a seat, chattering
begins to blend in the many conversations that form at every table and it all meshes
together to portray a sort of static. Keys clink as they’re tossed onto tables
in the hurry to get to or unwrap their food. Aluminum cans clank as they pop
open to wash down student’s lunches. Paper bags rattle and sound like the
leaves outside crunching as people walk over them. Lunch is eaten
simultaneously as conversations continue.
Other are glancing at their cell phones
and making clicking sounds on their laptop’s keyboards. Lunchtime appears to be
a multitasking hour among the students that chose to eat at Hawks Nest. Once
people are done eating, bags start crunching one last time before students
stand and toss them into the trashcans. Shoes click and clack against the tile
floors and doors swoosh open again as student’s head back out of Hawks Nest.
