BREAKING: Lindsey Thinks Her Backpack Needs Its Own Chair at Starbucks

Our latest coverage of the Penn community centers around a recent report of an incident that happened at Starbucks. We spoke to several students who witnessed the event.

“Yeah, I was just looking for a place to study because my roommate was being a dick, but I got to Starbucks and it was so crowded," Hannah Ponler (E ‘22) told us "Then I saw that this girl had an empty seat next to her so I walked over. I noticed that her bag was on the chair so I politely asked if the seat was taken, expecting her to apologize and move her bag. Instead, she just looked at me and didn’t say anything."

“Yeah I witnessed the whole thing! It was crazy. Let me recap it for you," Justin Silver (W ‘21) said. "This chick named Lindsey or something was sitting at Starbucks and her backpack was on the chair next to her. Like, that’s fine if there’s a bunch of empty chairs, but there was not an empty chair in the entire place. So this other girl comes over and she’s making eyes at the chair, so she asked the girl if the seat was taken. She just looked at her for like 15 seconds and then went right back to her computer."

Starbucks barista Lara Kaufman corroborated the story. “Yeah this chick was on her computer and a girl came over and asked to sit next to her and she just ignored her," Kaufman reported. "It was cold. I don’t know why she needs to put her backpack on a chair; there’s hooks underneath the tables for your bag. But our policy is generally not to get involved with arguments about seating.”

We asked Ponler about her response to the incident. “Well here’s what I wish I’d said. I wish I would’ve been like, 'okay sweetheart. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna move your bag from this chair, you’re gonna pull it out for me so I can sit down, and you’re gonna apologize to me for my troubles. Then, you’re gonna pack up your stuff, walk out the door, and never show your face here again…' But instead I just apologized for bothering her, did a weird little bow, and ran out without picking up my drink.”