Have you ever worked in the library, minding your business, but couldn't focus because of a godawful smell? That’s because students are not afraid to fart in the library. We are tracking down the culprits of the farters (or trying to).
Many students, including Samantha Youssef, a junior biology major, are in the library every day for hours.
Youssef said she studies during the peak hours of 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and often is interrupted by the stench of eggs.
“I put hand lotion on to get the smell out, I take a lap, or I drink tea, but it makes me distracted and grossed out and it completely throws me off,” Youssef said.
Carmine Camelo, a senior exercise major, said he is often in the library at the same time.
“I think my academics have taken a toll from the farting,” Camelo said. “The air is becoming polluted.”
For Jomar Dela Cruz, a sophomore finance major, he said he encounters foul smells nearby individuals more so than just lingering in the air.
“When you walk past people, usually guys that sit near the monitors by Dunkin, it’s pretty bad,” Dela Cruz said. “But girls can stink too.”
Not wanting to target people on an uncomfortable subject, Youssef said she thinks a general announcement deeming the library a fart-free zone should be released.
To students comfortable with farting in the popular study space, Youssef said to “step outside. We have bathrooms for a reason.”
Another solution, Camelo said, is to have a floor in the library designated for farts.
“Heat rises,” Camelo said. “Don’t do it on the second, everyone smells it. Go to the top and let it out.”
Elan Thomas, a junior marketing and law major, works in the library at the front desk and on the third and fourth floors.
The culprits, Thomas said, are people alone who think the stink won’t be noticed by others.
“I’ll walk into study rooms or past people’s areas when I’m working, and there’s definitely smells coming from some of them,” Thomas said.
And while it may be disruptive to others, Thomas said it’s a public library and it’s not the place for him or the library to control the odors of others.
“You just got to deal with the stink,” Thomas said.
Solomon Lee is the advertising manager for The Setonian. He can be reached at solomon.lee@student.shu.edu.
