URBANA — Three weeks after they were banned from the Siebel Center, Uni students are poised to return to one of their favorite campus hangouts.

Students have long ventured across Stoughton Street to get a bite to eat at Siebel's Bevande Café or just spend their free time lounging around in a place other than Uni.

But Assistant Director Sue Kovacs instituted the ban on Sept. 12 after the school received complaints from Director of Facilities Richard Henderson.

Specifically, Henderson complained that Uni students:

• leave food and wrappers lying on tables and furniture;
• run around the building and make excessive noise;
• take up most of the seating space at Bevande, depriving paying customers of a place to sit while often not buying anything themselves;
• move tables together and don't put them back in their original places when they leave.

Kovacs decided that immediate far-reaching discipline was the best route. The ban will come to an end on Monday. In anticipation of that, the Online Gargoyle spoke to Kovacs as well as Uni students and people at Siebel for their thoughts about the ban.

When smart kids screw up

The paradox of smart kids screwing up simple things seems like a rite of passage at Uni High.

Kovacs stated that behavioral problems have prompted similar bans at various locations during each of her seven years of working at Uni. These have included Grainger Library and the Digital Computer Laboratory.

"Students have a freedom that is new to them," she said. "[Misbehavior] generally happens in September."

Kovacs acknowledged that she has no way of knowing which class was a disruption at Siebel, and consequently placed the ban on all classes.

"The only thing that would solve these things is to take away the use of [Siebel]," said Kovacs. "I like to do things like a mommy."

Kovacs concluded: "Our kids are smart. They need to do what is good for the reputation of University High School."

The view from Siebel

We had a hard time finding anyone from Siebel with a real grudge against the Uni student presence.

"I don't notice them really, but there are times when they get rowdy, but that isn't often," a Bevande customer said of the Uni students.

The lack of Uni students has appeared to be a financial hardship for the café.

Jane Kyeans, manager of Bevande, contradicted the claim that Uni students' presence had discouraged business from other patrons. In fact, she stated, “Financially, sales are down.”

Furthermore she noted that there was not a significant change in the number of customers from outside of the Uni community since the ban was placed.

The view from Uni

Upon asking how students have coped with this campus limitation, we learned that many were under the impression that the ban extended to after-school hours. Some modified their schedule by going to DCL or other campus locations to wait for their rides.

Lunchtime seems to have required more of an adjustment.

Derald’s Catering has benefited from the influx of customers. The Beckman Institute Café and the other Bevande in the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory have also become popular alternatives.

Still, the ban did not stop some intrepid students from venturing to Siebel.

One bold freshman commented, "I feel that since I am not one of the people responsible, the ban should not apply to me." He added, "When I go to Siebel, I see many Uni students, and they all agree the ban is too harsh."

Another student operating under the radar stated: "I, in addition to several other people, just go anyways. If you act with maturity and don’t go around bothering people, no one really cares. It was underclassmen causing all the trouble, so I don’t really feel like I shouldn’t go there."

Some students are more drawn to the element of danger. As one junior put it, "I went anyway because I'm gangster."

Most have abided by the ban and have acknowledged its effectiveness. Junior Liz Allen stated, "Personally, I am glad Siebel did this because the underclassmen don't seem to have any respect or awareness for the people who work there."

Sophomore Celinda Davis added: "We need to remember not to take the availability of campus places like Siebel and Bevande for granted. And I think that's what they are trying to make us understand."

Ain't misbehavin'

The ban that is about to end was a prohibition on all Uni students. But what if problems continue? Are there alternatives short of another blanket curtailment of student access?

Senior Daniel Borup suggested, "I think it would have made more sense to have a ban on underclassmen going to Siebel, or perhaps a ban on actually eating there, rather than just buying food and coming back to Uni."

Student responses tend to lay the blame on the underclassmen, especially subfreshmen. When asked if their own behavior will have to be modified, interview respondents viewed their behavior at Siebel as already respectable.

Freshman Tanya Denisova believes that she and her lunch group "won’t have to change our behavior because we were always quiet when passing through the building."

Appreciation for Siebel will definitely be more fully realized when the ban is lifted. As freshman Maia Gersten put it, "Maybe I’ll even leave some tips for Bevande!"