Girls of all classes and sizes all over the
Although some girls wish and pretend that their fellow female students are transparent and diaphanous like clouds, they aren’t. It must be said that this trend of girls walking into other girls all around campus is juvenile and incontestably ridiculous.
Lately, I’ve been noticing, from my own experiences and hearing from many other female students, that girls refuse to take a second to move their foot a half an inch to get out of another girl’s way. This sounds like something we wouldn’t want to affirm, something so illogical and infantile that we wouldn’t want to admit that we take part in this rude behavior or have had an acquaintance with it.
How much power are these girls really trying to gain from brushing by someone’s shoulder like they’re Gretchen from “Mean Girls”? I mean come on, seriously. They may conceptualize it in their heads by thinking that belittling another girl will make them feel better; but, it only makes them look like worse human beings in the end.
I know sometimes a girl may have a bad day and be strolling by another girl and not care to look, and the girl ends up getting trampled down. But should this really be happening on a regular basis all around campus? No.
Girls should pride themselves on class, sophistication and intelligence, not immaturity and high school brush-bys while walking around campus. It’s imperative that female students at UMass be represented in a good light. Being known for inconsideration around campus is not going to make other female students happy or excited about staying at this university.
I know many girls feel this way because they’ve told me. They’ve told me that this is the type of thing that goes unnoticed and that it’s an issue many girls think about, but don’t say. So I’m saying it for them, and it needs to be resolved.
It’s as disrespectful and hurtful to some girls as the middle finger or spitting in someone’s face. Not feeling like you are even there, feeling like you don’t even matter at all is one of the worst feelings in the world.
On campus, you want to feel like you’re in a community, or at least feel respected and amongst girls who are in at least one way like you. Yet by walking right into each other, we’re sending the wrong message. Of course, not all girls on campus do this, but there are enough girls doing it that it’s made an impact; other female students are talking about it, and aren’t happy at all.
No one is fond of an inconsiderate student. I speak from personal experience, as I’m sure most readers have had their fair share as well. As girls, we need to be strong together, and unite to be there for one another in terms of friendship and representation of our gender.
It’s horrible to see a female student’s face after she was just knocked into without an apology. They feel like they don’t exist, like not even another girl can notice them. It’s hard enough realizing that as a girl, the guys you hope will notice you probably never do. But you at least expect other girls who understand the daily struggles would understand and at least go out of their way to not bump into another girl.
No girl is better than any other girl, if you think you are somehow, you are mistaken. And if you’re one of those girls who is guilty of brushing by another girl daily without apology or concern for anyone but yourself, you should be ashamed because it’s time to grow up. Do you truly think that adolescent behavior is going to fly when you graduate – if you ever do – and actually attain a real job, in the real world? No.
Come on girls, please be a better representation of the female population, and don’t let your lack of consideration for girls other than yourself or your friends force you to trample over someone while walking to class. It takes two seconds, just step out of the way. I think we all learned that in kindergarten, but some of us must have forgotten.
Nicole Sobel is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at nsobel@student.UMass.edu
In order to improve the public opinion of girls in college campuses, other issues need to be addressed.
People should acknowledge how they treat each other and take responsibility for what they say/do and how they say/do it. Only then, perhaps, will people have a safer environment.