Observation #1

The pit on Friday mornings is a very calm place. After people rush out of class to grab alpine and disappear, everyone who is left sits in the fresh air, usually not alone. Anyone who is sitting alone is working. There are no loud noises to break the sounds of the wind blowing between the buildings; there is a quiet din of voices, none coherent. Every now and then the serenity is broken by a laugh or a quick yelp as someone’s breakfast attempts to fly away in the wind. Unless a friend is spotted moving by the union, people rarely talk outside of their own tables, unless you need a chair. Moving through the tables, everyone tries to avoid bumping into or touching other people; if there is not enough space between the tables, people walk around. As it gets later in the morning, tour groups start wandering through; the conversation for at least one table, at some point, mentions the tour groups.