The situation is familiar to many students: sitting in class as their stomachs long agonizingly for their next meal. Luckily enough for hungry students, the bookstore is there to solve all snacking needs. 

While some students may stop in every now and then to grab a quick bite or a sweet treat, others have become reliant on the bookstore, even going so far as to avoid school lunches entirely. Thanks to the bookstore, Michael Oehler ‘21 can frequently be seen around campus with his ever-present box of Mike and Ikes.

“Michael is a two-a-day-er,” bookstore manager Lisa Frank said. “He’s in here everyday buying Mike and Ikes, ice cream, and ramen. He’s addicted; he’ll be the first one to tell you that.”

The purchase of these three items rings up at $3 a day. Although Oehler’s spending habits may shock the thriftier students on campus, he is by no means the biggest spender.

“Michael isn’t even my most frequent visitor,” Frank said. “There are some people that are in here four, even five times a day.”

When asked about the identity of said spendthrifts, Frank declined to comment.

“What happens in the bookstore stays in the bookstore,” she said.

At the beginning of the school year, the bookstore was open during freshman/sophomore lunch and closed during the junior/senior lunch. This has since changed, allowing upperclassmen access to the bookstore during lunch hour.

“Lunch is definitely the busiest time in the bookstore,” Frank said. “However, we changed things this year because I’ve always felt that the bookstore should be a privilege for the upperclassmen. Plus, there were a few behavioral issues.”

The new lunch hours have only served to feed Oehler’s self-proclaimed addiction, and health is of no concern to him. His daily purchase of Mike and Ikes contains 18 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to eating 4.5 pure sugar cubes. Assuming the school year lasts approximately 180 days, this equates to 3240 grams of sugar, or 810 sugar cubes throughout the year.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be very surprised if unhealthy eating is affecting my athletic performance,” Oehler said. “But it’s worth it; Mike and Ikes are the best candy ever created.”

Similarly, over the course of the school year, Oehler will spend somewhere in the range of $540 on food from the bookstore. Luckily, he has a summer job to help lessen the negative effects on his bank account.

“During the summer I do tons of lawn work,” Oehler said. “I help my grandparents with lots of things.”

Oehler’s daily tradition of purchasing Mike and Ikes dates all the way back to his freshman year, and it has become an essential piece of his Mount Michael experience.

“The Mike and Ikes have been happening forever,” he said. “I’ve been buying them ever since the first day of freshman year.”