Our
View: Coffee creeps onto The Beach’s
shores
The Daily Forty-Niner reported this week a new Starbucks location is to be added
to the main entrance of the University Library. One of the most successful American
enterprises in recent history has
finally crept onto the shores of The Beach.
But the real question is if this upcoming addition of corporate America a good
thing or a bad thing?
We believe it is both. Like most aspects of life, the addition of Starbucks will
bring with it negative consequences but also positive features.
First the bad. According to Daily Forty-Niner article, associate vice president
for physical planning and facilities management at Cal State Long Beach, students
will walk through the Starbucks to enter the library. The proposed location seems
a bit intrusive.
It’s similar to an old Las Vegas gimmick where patrons in casinos are forced
to walk past the machines and tables to get anywhere. It forces them to notice
the alluring shining lights and progressive jackpots despite intentions just
to eat at the buffet or go to the bathroom.
Students will have to brush past the lattes and macchiatos, however tempting
they may be, to just find a book or get in a few hours of studying.
Students will also have to cope somehow with the noise commonly alongside coffee
shops, such as chatting, blenders and employees yelling out finished orders.
Such additional cacophony is not needed in the library.
Also, with a Starbucks inside the library, what will happen to all those empty
cups? The potential for Starbucks trash, whipped cream or coffee spills on books
and desks is massive. Having Starbucks in that location is a caffeinated bomb
waiting to explode over some poor manuscript from the 1960s.
Traffic at the entrance for yet another popular coffee shop would also be a problem.
With people lined up out the door for their morning coffee, will this not have
a negative effect upon those going to the library for more academic purposes?
Now the good. One of the reasons Starbucks is such a successful company is that
it provides a quality product. Even non-coffee drinkers can appreciate the lighter,
sweeter drinks with which Starbucks has revolutionized the world. Caramel this,
vanilla that — Starbucks seems to have it all.
The serving of what many believe to be a quality product would be a welcome addition
to The Beach. It would also provide us with a second choice, considering we already
have a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the University Student Union.
For on-campus residents, having a Starbucks location so close is convenient.
The nearest Starbucks within walking distance is located near the Del Taco on
Palo Verde. The shortest drive one is in the Marina Pacifica shopping center.
It will be nice to have one on campus.
Having a Starbucks on campus could also provide new jobs for students. It also
may provide much needed revenue for the school if Starbucks has to pay a premium
to have a presence on campus.
The only beef, despite the pros of having Starbucks here at The Beach, is the
coffee shop’s location. If it were not in the library, most of our complaints
would be solved. Perhaps replacing the Beach Hut with the Starbucks, located
to the left of the main library entrance, would be a better idea.
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