What do you mean you’re closed for renovations?

By: Justine Tomon
Posted In: Opinion

In case you didn’t hear, and/or haven’t been affected by the tragedy, Dunkin Donuts on Memorial Avenue is closed for renovations. It’s OK.you’re not alone in your depression and misery.

The news spread faster than the latest application on Facebook, and once word seeped through the student body, the results were not pleasant. Students, normally despondent through the wintertime blues, have become borderline savage. The rings under their eyes have grown darker and deeper as the days of this Dunkin Donuts fast continues. And we thought the writers’ strike was torture.

Didn’t the franchise know how steadily the Salve community relied on their precious blend of caffeine and sugar? How else did they think students and faculty alike actually survived the long weekdays?

For many, the closing of Dunkin Donuts has left a munchkin shaped hole in their hearts, but some brave souls have ventured outside their comfort zone to replenish the caffeine deficiency coursing through their bodies.

Jillian Cannone (’08), among other students, has found solace in other franchises, even though there may be significant price differences. “Dunkin Donuts was just so convenient. It’s right there on the way to class and it doesn’t hurt the wallet. Starbucks is good, but it’s just not the same,” she said with a smirk.

Fellow student Lynell Lovejoy (’09) agreed that Dunkin Donuts closing was a travesty, though she has been courageous enough to venture into uncharted territories. “I love Ma’s Donuts, but honestly, it’s so out of the way that it doesn’t make sense for me to go there. Now that Dunkin’s is closed, I’ve been forced to leave my house earlier so I can get my coffee.”

That is the problem most students are running into now that the convenient coffee is temporarily unavailable. Starbucks is one of the newly appreciated venues students are flocking to, though perhaps not in the dozens that you’d expect. Danielle Brazil, an employee at the Thames Street locale for two years, said that business has remained constant, with no considerable change resulting from Dunkin Donuts’ closing.

Perhaps one of the reasons for Starbucks consistent profits is the location, which isn’t far from campus by any means, but, like Ma’s, is definitely inconvenient by comparison. Starbucks is on a one-way street downtown, which means a student would have to leave home extra early to make the loop around Washington Square. And as Lovejoy said, leaving home early means you have to wake up early, and since there is a decline in our coffee accessibility, there’s no caffeine to jump-start our mornings any earlier than necessary.

Of course, people don’t just go to Dunkin Donuts for the java; after all, that’s not what the franchise is named after. Donuts. Muffins. Bagels. Breakfast sandwiches. The menu is seemingly endless, especially with the recently added pizzas and sandwiches. So what is a crazed college student to do when time is running short and the stomach is rumbling before a two and half hour class?

“Every time I want a muffin.I cry,” said Kelley Hood (’09). She, like others, obviously cannot wait until the caffeine and treats have returned to their rightful spot in our routines.

There is no longer the opportunity to grab that delicious Boston Cream donut, a Coffee Cake muffin or any of the plethoras of options available. So we are forced to sit through class with empty stomachs and withdrawal shakes counting down to, no, not Spring Break, but the grand reopening of our favorite Memorial Avenue hotspot.

Of course, it is understandable that the company would need to shut down operation in order to do a successful do-over because as Megan Kolakowski stated, “It’s always busy in there! Think about it!”

Whether you’re on your way to an 8:30 a.m. class when, let’s face it, the extra shot of energy is necessary, or you’re trying to stay awake in class until 8:30 p.m., that pink and orange sign is a welcoming beacon of perseverance. The one thing getting us from Point A to Point B. Without it we are lost. Hence our distress.

And though we could drive the extra few minutes to West Main Road and visit Ma’s donuts, or God forbid, slum it with 7-11’s coffee, life just isn’t the same without our beloved “Dunks.” May it return to us soon, or may our grades and social calendars suffer for lack of energy.