Common Grounds is a Baylor icon, a Waco favorite, and a happy place for me. I remember spending time there hanging out with friends, writing articles for The Odyssey with a Cowboy Coffee, and editing stories with my classmates for our beloved Reporting and Writing for the Media class. It's a special place in my heart because I spent so much of my time there freshman year. From meeting up with one of my friends in high school to the day that I moved out of my freshman dorm, Common Grounds was there for me, during challenging classes and through the beginnings of wonderful friendships.

You walk in and you are instantly home. Common Grounds is the definition of cozy, with old wood floors, plush velvet couches and an inviting backyard with Edison bulbs and wood benches, encouraging me to sit down with a latte and my laptop. Their music choices always inspire me to add more new songs to my Spotify playlist, and their concerts always attract large crowds bundling up in jackets with a cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate in hand.

So when Baylor announced that they would be taking away Einstein's Bros Bagels with Common Grounds, I was initially excited. The idea of having close access to good coffee (Starbucks, I still love you) was an amazing idea.

But the more I thought about it, I began to realize what a bad decision it was.

Don't get me wrong, you will find me at the Baylor Student Union Building (SUB for short) grabbing my daily dose between classes. But I believe that because Common Grounds is so close to campus being on 8th Street, having a second location close to 5th Street is not much of a difference. It may make my walk from my dorm shorter by like two minutes, but the actual Common Grounds is well worth an additional two-minute walk.

Common Grounds has a certain energy, a particular vibe that inspires me to write. The hipster-indie environment is one so special to me, to fellow Baylor students, and Waco natives. That type of energy cannot be replicated. Putting a Common Grounds in the SUB is only about making money, not about serving students coffee in such a well-respected and loved establishment. Sure, you can get your No-Bull and sit down and work on a draft for an English class in the SUB, but why would you ever want to go to the SUB to be inspired to work when the actual Common Grounds is a five-minute walk away?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't utilize the convenience of Common Grounds being in the SUB. I will certainly use it to my full advantage. But it's lacking in what Common Grounds really has: Character.