The Colorado Mesa University cafeteria is filled with all kinds of different students, but like any other popular area on campus, there are certain people that you will always find there.

After being a student for two semesters, I’ve noticed five types of people and social groups that I see when I go to the caf: the athletes, the massive groups, the headphones, the staff and the drinkers.

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There’s the normal variety of people too, and of course, the amount of each stereotype varies on the time of day. You probably won’t find as many people eating at that cafeteria during class hours than you would otherwise, and are thus less likely to find these more diverse stereotypes.

The athletes

The athletes are the groups of students who always are decked in workout gear and varsity jackets that say CMU and what team they are on. They look like they just came from a hard practice, even at 11:30 a.m. on a Wednesday. There are about 200 plates of food at their tables, and no one talks because they all have mouthfuls of food. It’s quite entertaining to watch.

The massive groups

The massive groups of people can also be categorized under “the entire dorm floors or apartment complexes that eat together.” These are the groups of 10-15 people who eat at long tables and just make a whole bunch of noise. They’re mainly guys, and at least one of them always seems to be wearing a CMU sweatshirt.

Personally, I don’t really understand how these groups manage to get everyone to go out and eat at the same time, or how they can manage to spend so long eating and talking at the caf, but good for them.

The headphones

The headphones are the lone wolves of the CMU caf. They’re the people who almost always sit in a booth by the windows, eating, while on their phones and with massive headphones on their heads.

These people are usually alone but seem so enthralled with what they’re doing on their devices they seem pretty content. They’re also usually there for the longest time out of the other groups, probably because they lose track of time on their technology.

The Sodexo staff

The Sodexo staff is a pretty straightforward and explanatory group of people you see at the caf. The thing is, you see them everywhere. I know it’s their job, but it still shocks me when I see 10 of them all over the dining room, not just in the food area.

They’re eating at tables, cooking and honestly just strolling around the whole place. No matter when you go or how long you stay, you’ll see a ton of Sodexo staff.

The last group is a less apparent group, one that you really have eavesdrop to find.

The drinkers

The drinkers are usually groups of about five to eight students who sit at half booths in the caf and talk about nothing but weekend plans and drinking.

They literally sit there at noon on a school day and talk about how much alcohol they’re gonna buy and how “lit” the weekend will be.

There’s no talk about school or relationships or other normal things, just about drinking and smoking. Listening to these people talk is always entertaining; they just get so excited about this one small thing.

There are many CMU students on campus, and most of them eat in the caf at some point during their college career. Of course, most of CMU’s population falls into many other categories other than these five. However, after spending as much time in the cafeteria as I have (unfortunately), these are just some of the most interesting people I’ve come across.