At my university (presumably not the same one), the piano that's in the public lounge gets a similar treatment...people expect the playing to be superb and expect you to use the practice rooms downstairs if you're not quite there yet, with many adverse comments if you make mistakes (i.e. "most untalented person ever on the piano right now" etc.). Which I'd support (there's a variety of people that take it upon themselves to sight-read Christmas songs on that piano for example) except for:
1. There are only 3 practice pianos at a university of over 30000 students. I've been on the piano practice room waiting list for over two hours before waiting for a spot to open.
2. Quite oftentimes, the practice rooms get used by people who just go there to play violin, or oboe, or trumpet, etc., extending the waiting times for people who want a piano practice room to, you know, practice piano. I don't know why they can't just find an empty room -- there's plenty of empty rooms on campus, including classrooms if nothing else.
3. Music majors get their own half-dozen piano practice rooms in their own building (I've seen the rooms, just not allowed in them). They don't have to compete for scarce practice rooms like the rest of us commoners.
4. The piano in the public area is a Steinway 7' grand while the ones in the practice rooms are Yamaha uprights. I've learned through painful experience that what sounds okay on a Yamaha upright sounds dreadful on a Steinway 7' grand with its more delicate touch and subtle voicing. You can only get so far practicing on the Yamaha upright in terms of figuring out if you're "doing it right" before moving to an instrument with better feedback. At some point, when you're not practicing technique but working on phrasing and musicality, the Steinway becomes the only viable option.
5. Along with that, yes, the Steinway sounds much more pleasant to play than the Yamaha. Not just the piano quality, but it's in a very large wood-lined room as opposed to the small, soundproofed practice rooms.
6. Most of the piano players there who are serious about piano know about the practice rooms downstairs (if nothing else, to put themselves on the waiting list before trying the publicly available piano -- since it also gets used a lot). I would venture that quite a few complaints about the public piano are actually due to the constant background stream of people day after day who decide it's the ideal place for them to try to plunk out the notes to that obscure movie (often loudly) when there's dozens of people sitting around, etc.
7. And yes, there are plenty of couches, rooms, open spaces, etc., elsewhere in that building to study, not just that lounge. But some people want to study and (more than occasionally) nap/sleep there and then complain about the noise from the piano in the corner. Unless it's their favorite Avril or Bieber song.
Topic: I hate everyone