Encouraging stronger discussion among few, Upstairs Foco minimizes the chaos of masses.
At Upstairs Foco, students have a dining option with less people. This simple decrease in numbers compared to the downstairs allows people to avoid the chaos of being lost in the crowd like the busy street Fleming describes or the rush of Downstairs Foco.
In addition, fewer people enables students to be held more accountable for their actions. If a student acts rowdy or misbehaves, another individual can call his/her peer out because it is easier to identify who is poorly behaving. In this way, the diversity Fleming describes that is necessary for public discourse is found not in numbers like a crowded street but through the depth of diversity within each person. As the upstairs has an overall fewer people, students are more encouraged to truly get to know each other's personalities rather then just issuing a friendly greeting to masses of people.
Below are two time lapse videos taken on Sunday March 7th within 5 minutes apart from each other during the brunch swipe time period. The first one captures Upstairs Foco where less people allow students to work on group projects in pocketed publicity and really get to know each other. In comparison, the second video showcases Downstairs Foco where chaos and chatter offers a loud dining environment, but not an opportunity to thoroughly engage with each other because of the loud nature of the space.
With less people upstairs, noises are also kept down, creating an environment more similar to a study lounge than a dining hall. This difference in noise encourages many people who look to multi-task while eating to head upstairs. In addition, in a quieter environment, students are less susceptible to feeling overwhelmed by publicity. There, they can interact with a small group of people instead of partially conversing with multiple groups without truly discussing.
Below are two audio recordings taken within five minutes of each other that illustrate the varying sound levels between the upstairs and downstairs.