Throughout the centuries, a town or village has almost always had its meeting place, whether it be the local tavern or pub, the town square, or the ever-popular public execution. Morgan’s Coffee & Tea is that modern day meeting place (minus the gruesome beheadings). For all intents and purposes, it’s a contemporary tavern. Instead of wandering minstrels, there’s the Seattle-esque acoustic guitar player. Instead of drinking games, there’s hackey sack. Instead of wild drinking songs with people standing atop tables and clanking together mugs of ale, there are people sitting outside on the patio sipping coffee and having political discussions. And for those of you who have ever spilt scalding hot coffee, you will understand that hot coffee plus rowdiness equals expensive skin grafting surgery.

At Morgan’s you can find people of all shapes, sizes, ages and nationalities. And it’s a perfect place to find a helpless student to interview. In this case, the victim was 23-year-old Kim Sevey from Seaside, a Monterey Peninsula College sophomore majoring in Computer Information Sciences.

Here’s Sevey’s take on what to do, and what not to do, in town.

>>MPC’S MONTEREY COUNTY

Favorite Hangout: Morgan’s because it has free Internet access, late hours, and is a great place to meet people of all ages.

Where to Find Lunch For Under $5: Turtle Bay Taqueria.

Where To Study: Monterey Public Library because it’s open on Sundays.

Where To Take a Nap: Colton Hall lawn.

How To Stay Fit: The bike path.

Best Way To Spend a Saturday Night: Camping in Pfeiffer Park down in Big Sur.

Where To Go Shopping: Goodwill.

Where To Hear Good Music: Viva’s in Monterey.

What’s Good About Monterey: “Lots of hospitality jobs that easily work around student schedules.”

What’s Bad About Monterey: “The cost of living is really elevated. The nightlife is also pretty restricted for those under 18.”

What’s Good About MPC: “The instructors are very accessible to students, unlike some of the bigger colleges.”

What’s Bad About MPC: “It’s understaffed and we’re low on money.”

Tourist Attraction I’m Most Sick Of: Monterey Walk of History.

Hobbies: Distance runner. “I’m training for the Big Sur half-marathon next year.”

Favorite Books: “Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I like a lot of classic literature.”

Kerry or Bush?: “I don’t talk politics in public because I don’t like to polarize people.”

Weirdest Experience In Monterey: “I was sitting on the bench at Morgan’s breaking up with my boyfriend when a guy in an Army uniform and a girl in a wedding dress walked beneath the tree on the patio. A third person showed up and they apparently got married right then and there.”

Cool Events Around Town: Free films at the Henry Miller Library on Thursdays and Poetry Slams every other Wednesday at Morgan’s.

Cool Events At MPC: Earth Day on April 22. • World Celebration week during the week of Cinco de Mayo.