Sometimes, I smile or wave at people I don't know because I mistake them for someone else. Usually, it becomes a fairly awkward exchange; the person is tentative about smiling back at a stranger and will give me a quizzical look and avert his eyes. Apparently, as a Hopkins student, you aren't supposed to be friendly toward strangers.
This past year, I started doing some work with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. I noticed that whenever staffers walked by me, they would smile and say hello. I thought it was weird. I wasn't used to politeness for the sake of politeness. I remembered the time my friend carried a large box from her apartment to campus and not one person asked her if she needed help. I remembered a Salsa Rico employee not allowing me to fill a big cup with water even though they were out of the smaller "water cups" (for the record, my entire Chicken Baja experience was subsequently ruined). I was used to people complaining about Baltimore, about the student body, about having too much work.
Through many of these encounters, I slowly began to realize that I, too, was being sucked into the whirlpool of student standoffishness. Had I really become so jaded and overcome with Hopkins cynicism that I couldn't even acknowledge when someone was just being friendly?
Anytime someone holds a door open for me, I am both impressed and thankful. However, I shouldn't be so shocked by this. It should just happen. Such actions should be common sense. But, I find that it is rather rare to stumble upon a student even acknowledging someone else's existence if they do not already know each other.
The same box-carrying friend explained to me that when she visited another university, people smiled at her and asked how she was, even though they had no idea who she was. They were merely interested in the well being of fellow students. They weren't being fake, either. Instead, the students were just genuinely welcoming.
Students at Hopkins crave a sense of community; whenever there are barbeques on the Beach, or any nice gestures from the administration, people are happier and more fun to be around. It sounds silly, but such gestures really do make a difference in people's perception of the school. Everyone likes to feel appreciated every once in a while, and seeing the higher-ups throw a bone to the students makes the campus much more pleasant.
Students don't want to go through their four years complaining about their university. They want to be happy; they want to feel like they attend a school that cares about them; they want to live the clich5f that college is the best four years of their lives.
We need to stop all the complaining. We can't keep blaming campus offices or professors or overly competitive pre-meds or Baltimore. It isn't fair to complain about the school when many of the students are merely fueling the fire.
Rather, we can blame ourselves for not caring enough about each other and not thinking that maybe all it really takes to change someone's day is to help a struggling girl carry a box.
It's not like I never see someone make a nice gesture; it's just that I don't see it often enough. The solution is simple: all we have to do is to start being more aware. The whirlpool can only suck you in if you are willing to go down with it.
Smile more. Communicate with the administration. Put loose change in the Cafe Q tip jars. Ask the person on the elevator what floor he needs. Tell a random girl you like her sweater. Hold doors. Ask the Salsa Rico employee how her day is going.
We are young adults -- we are supposed to be idealistic, not pessimistic. Wake up, Hopkins! Student life isn't going to improve until people start noticing each other a little more.
--Carey Polis is a junior Writing Seminars major from Bethesda, Md.
