SAMANTHA MCKELVIE – Staff Writer
My years spent on this earth have shown me some people are polite and most people are not-so polite. My years spent at college have shown me that some young adults are polite and even more young adults are not-so polite.
I am 21 years old, and the flat-out rudeness I have encountered by others my age is unbelievable to me. So, you can imagine how much I look forward
to being on my college campus and interacting
with my peers every day (in case you missed it, that was sarcasm).
Let me start by saying that I have never had so many doors closed in my face than I have on my school campus. I could be a couple of feet behind someone ready to walk through the door right after them, but instead of doing the polite thing and holding the door open, countless people have let the door go right in my face.
While some of these people don’t even bother to look back and see if someone is behind them (which should be second-nature), some actually
do look back and STILL proceed to let the door go. I was raised to hold the door for people, especially if they are right behind me, but it seems that simply holding the door for a few extra seconds is much too much effort for some. It also seems like it’s too much effort for people to say “thank you” when others go out of their way to hold a door open for them. Maybe the initial shock of not having a door slammed in their face causes them to temporarily forget their manners.
What irks me just as much as a door in my face is the fact that I have to search my classrooms for a chair to sit in because people think it’s necessary
to leave their bags in the chairs next to them, even after they see other people looking around for somewhere to sit. Your bag is not a person, so get it off the chair!
If someone is looking for a seat and you don’t have the common courtesy to move your bag off the chair, you are a lost cause in my book, because that is beyond rude.
Another rude behavior occurring in the classroom
is the use of cell phones by students while professors are teaching. Before I go any further, I will be the first to admit that I have been guilty of texting while in class; the difference is, I actually try to be discrete about it. I cannot believe the sheer disrespect I’ve seen students display by blatantly using their cell phones in class right in the professor’s
face. You shouldn’t be doing it, but if you are, you should at least have the decency to be discrete about it or step out of the room.
Moving away from doorways and classrooms, the hallways are where I’ve witnessed the bulk of rude behavior displayed by my fellow young adults. So without further ado, let me get a few things straight.
First, if you are walking in a hallway full of people, it is really unwise to look down at your phone without looking up to see where you are walking. Chances are, you are going to walk right into someone and I’ll bet money that you won’t apologize for it.
Next, if you are walking through a crowded hallway, it is inconsiderate to walk slowly or stand in the middle of the hallway
with your entire posse. You are not the only people in the hallway, and other people might like to get by and actually get to class.
Lastly, if your toes are on the heels of someone else’s feet, you are following too closely behind that person and they probably don’t appreciate the fact that they can feel you breathing.
So where am I going with this? Well, one of my goals was to make those people who participate in this rude behavior aware of what they are doing,
in the hopes that they may make some changes for the better (hopefully some of the culprits read this).
What I really wanted to point out was how the younger and newer generations seem to have a shortage of manners and an abundance of disregard for other people. It could be because children today are raised differently or maybe because our culture and values are constantly changing and evolving with time.
Whatever the reason, it is an unsettling transformation
to see and is something today’s parents
need to address and today’s youth need to be made aware of. If everyone put just a little more effort into being considerate, there might come a day when doors are held open long enough for more than one person to walk through them and when bags no longer take up empty seats.
