When going out to spend a few blissful hours at a local café, how big of a habit has it become to grab your laptop on the way out?  

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Coffee is one of life’s greatest culinary pleasures and all that, but let’s be honest—if you’re making one of these special trips, you probably have some furious writing or studying time in mind. The backpack is on, and the laptop is crammed inside.

Well, it may be time to leave the hardware behind. (Please feel free to cry with me about this one.)

I’m somewhat of a hopeless romantic when it comes to our incessantly progressing culture. I like a nice, fat, real book in my hands.  And I like my cell phone to mostly just make phone calls.

But when I make that trek to a café, you better believe I take my laptop with me.

Unfortunately, many cafes in California have decided that the Wi-Fi users are holding up their business.

This is bad news for the strung-out college student.

As one of those students, I’m all too familiar with the crushing pressure of deadlines and the intense desire to escape the fluorescent lighting of our prison-like libraries. When I have a paper due within eight hours, yes, I know it’s time to lock myself in said prison and churn out whatever words I can formulate in my caffeine-addled brain.

But on a more regular basis, I need a change in atmosphere. That’s why local cafés have become the student’s safe haven for the slightly-more-than-usual workload. And it’s never been a bad decision for me—the music is light, the vibe is laid-back and focused, and, most importantly, your coffee cup runneth over with that magical concentration juice.

Occasionally, I do find myself checking my email or Facebook instead of finishing the infamous conclusion paragraph. But Internet access is often completely, utterly necessary in order to do any work. How else would I know who directed “Un Grand Amour de Beethoven,” of which I once had to write a review? Give me a break.

While I understand that those of us who squat at a table for hours doing nothing but drinking free water and clogging the server aren’t exactly the customers of the year, the idea of essentially banning the laptop just seems a bit… cranky.

Like it or not, Wi-Fi has basically become a necessary element to modern café culture. The drinks and pastries are surely delicious, but if I’m all of a sudden not allowed to set up camp for a while for the sake of my own academic sanity, then I’m going to have to take my business elsewhere. Some place where the laid-back vibe isn’t regulated by bitter baristas.

Fine then, Cali cafés. No Internet for me, none of my money for you.

To reach Staff Reporter Kelly Baron, click here.