Oct. 2, 2011
Molly Mrazek
[email protected]
Welcome to the Scribe’s school of student etiquette. You’re here because you’ve picked your nose, wiped a sneeze on your sleeve and used the wrong fork all over the name of student propriety.
In other words, you’ve practiced rude student behavior. Congratulations!
Never fear, we know you want to change. You demonstrated this by picking up the Scribe and reading this article; that’s step one.
We could all use a refresher course in acting like ladies and gentlemen in the classroom and around campus. Fortunately, there are some simple rules you can follow to achieve this.
Rule number one: Raise your hand. Whoever invented the art of hand-raising was a smart person.
Here’s how it works: You raise your hand if you have a question or comment for the instructor and then, you wait patiently for the instructor to call on you.
Gesticulating wildly or speaking when you’re not called on is very rude and often annoys your classmates.
Rule number two: Don’t use your phone in the library or the bathroom. Isn’t this obvious? You would think so!
The library is clearly a quiet place. However, I would also like to point out that it’s awkward and off-putting for your fellow bathroom-users when you are on your phone whilst using the facilities.
That’s just gross and weird. In fact, when I’ve come across this, I have been known to turn on all possible hand dryers in protest (and, perhaps, to give the person’s whereabouts away, as I very much doubt that the person that they are speaking to is aware of what’s going on on the other side of the phone).
Rule number three: Be careful with your backpack, especially those rolling ones. First of all, the UCCS campus is not an airport. There is no need for your backpack to roll.
If your backpack is heavy, stash your books under a stairwell or hide them amongst other library books and save us all the embarrassment of tripping over it as you roll down the hallway.
Rule number four: If you’re using a laptop in class, use it for classroom purposes only. Playing Warcraft, checking out your Facebook or email or looking at memes does not count as proper laptop-in-the-classroom decorum.
Rule number five: Just as you shouldn’t text and drive, most people shouldn’t text and walk.
We’ve all heard that texting while driving is equivalent to driving drunk; well, texting while walking is equivalent to walking blindfolded.
You swerve, you veer, you end up in another person’s walking path. It’s messy and embarrassing. Keep your eyes on the road!
Finally, rule number six: Support your teams! UCCS needs some school spirit.
As a university we are growing very quickly, but if we want to be on par with our big brother school CU-Boulder, we need to support our teams with the same amount of energy and enthusiasm.
With basketball season approaching, let’s show up and support our athletes! (And don’t forget the other team sports, too!)
Bottom line: Let’s remember the manners our parents taught us when we were children. We’ve left the nest, and it’s about time we put those manners into practice in the rest of the world.
We’re all striving to be successful human beings. If you ask any of your professors, I’m sure they will tell you that the way we behave at school should also be appropriate behavior for the business environment.
Now, I think you’re ready to graduate from the school of etiquette.
One final test: Everybody walk through the library with a book balanced on your head!