Press "Enter" to skip to content

Should Einstein Bros. Bagels open in the library?

Currently on UMBC’s campus, only five dining facilities serve breakfast on weekdays: Au Bon Pain, Chic-fil-a, Starbucks, Outtakes and True Grit’s. Coming soon, Einstein Bros. Bagels will open in the library, but is that going to disturb students trying to study?

Starbucks is known for having a line in the morning from the cashiers to the doors, and the other locations get quite busy as well. Should Einstein become this popular, would it be a distraction?

Beau Dickens, a tutor in the Math Lab, located in the library, thinks it might be. “Students come in at all times of the day to learn,” they said. “If one student regularly comes in in the mornings, Einstein’s could throw off their schedule and ruin their studying.”

The ground floor of the library is the most visited for the printing availability and the tutoring center. It also holds the art gallery and the front desk to check out or return books. Should Einstein become a popular place for breakfast, students could be interrupted as they utilize the library’s resources.

Elijah Johnson, a first-year psychology and social work double major, said he thinks Einstein has the potential to be more popular than its predecessor, Pura Vida.

“First of all, none of these places besides Chi-fil-a and D-hall really have a meal that comes for a meal plan swipe,” Johnson said. “If Einstein’s offers something like that, I’m sure a lot more students with meal plans will go there so they can get food and a drink,” he continued.

Despite that, Johnson does not see this as a distraction. He explained, “there are tutors there every day of the week, and Einstein’s can’t be busy every minute of the day. People should still be able to study, even if they have to change tutors.”

Johnson and Dickens agreed on the idea that students who are studying could relocate to a different floor of the library to escape any distractions. Since the library offers a variety of quiet and silent floors, it should not be hard to escape any breakfast chaos. The main issue is the tutoring center.

Dickens said that most of their students are regulars. “They all have schedules that work for them. If their schedule happens to overlap a busy time at Einstein’s, it’s not really fair to ask them to change. They should be comfortable with their tutors.”

There is a possibility Einstein will not be as busy as expected. However, the chain’s popularity throughout the state points towards a busy breakfast line.

If it is as busy as it is expected to be, a possible solution would be to move the tutoring center. Placing it on another floor where students can talk would allow for both sides to be accommodated should it come to that extreme.

See more by this Author