If there is one thing I have noticed living on campus, it’s that students love Dunkin’. And why shouldn’t they? It’s the most convenient place to get coffee on campus. They take dining dollars and the student gets a coffee in return. That always sounds like a deal to me!
But what you may not have known, is that there are three different Dunkin’ locations on campus. They have a monopoly on coffee here, no doubt about it. The most well known is the one in the John A. Barone Campus Center.
It reminds one most closely of a Dunkin’ from the outside world: large TV menus, the whole coffee barista station in the back and a glowing display of mouth watering donuts for a cheat day, once in a while. I am most happy to find the tables and chairs back. You can actually have a real coffee break with friends and take a seat in the middle of the day to talk about classes, or just to regroup over a coffee and take a moment to yourself.
You have to be strategic, however, about when you go. Most weekday mornings, the place is packed and the line snakes around the corner. You’ve got to be an early bird to miss that long line and get your order! One new thing that was introduced this year is the use of mobile ordering from the app. Now you can be running in between classes, order on your phone, and pick up your mid-day coffee from a “mobile pickup” shelf on the side of the Dunkin’.
Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer to interact with the person at the cash register, give them my name for the order and order right then and there.
You have to be aware, though, of when that name of yours is called. It’s almost embarrassing the amount of times I’ve picked up a bagel, walked out of the building, only to find halfway to the Dolan School of Business that I’m holding a bagel with extra cream cheese, when I ordered a bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel.
It’s moments like these when you realize the importance of just slowing down once in a while. But then again, this is the New England mentality of ‘go, go, go’ and Dunkin’ coffee helps us do just that.
The other locations include the library outlet, as I call it, and the little closet Dunkin’ in the Dolan School of Business. Truthfully, I’ve never been to the one in the Dimenna-Nyselius Library, but I imagine it serves its desired purpose.
However, the one in the Dolan School of Business is the one I am most closely associated with. It’s my favorite. It’s tucked away in a little room, and it is completely self-serve. I can pour my desired coffee to a precise oat milk ratio, and the exact amount of pumps of french-vanilla flavor shots to make my mornings go a little easier.
My favorite combo is a small hot coffee with oat milk, and two shots of french-vanilla, along with a french cruller donut, that I pick up between my 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. class.
The only awkward part of the Dolan School of Business Dunkin’ is when there are more than three people inside. It gets crowded quickly. It almost reminds me of the Presidential Ball mosh pit that was happening on the dance floor. Not to mention that if you have the full backpacks swinging left and right, you’ve got an obstacle course on your hands.
But that’s just part of the sacrifice us caffeine fiends must make in order to get our fix.
So if you’re usually a Barone Campus Center goer, try out the Dolan School of Business for a change and help yourself, literally, to a cup of coffee for enjoying the walk back to the quad or village.
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