By Bri Sharkey

At the beginning of each year, gaggles of first-years flock to the buses, reinvigorating this standard Collegeville staple with a dose of their guileless excitement.

I remember fondly the hopeful glances and giddy anticipation as they waited to see who was going to sit next to them on their ride through St. Joe.

I remember the era of perky voices greeting me as I sat down, the accommodating backpack shift, and the accompanying smile. “Hi!” the voices used to greet me. “How’s y’ day going?”
I miss their eager upturned faces.

This semester, just like fall semesters of years past, the first-years’ natural friendliness ebbed away as the semester dragged. They learned that talking to their seatmates marked them as newcomers to campus, and so they shut up.

Slowly but surely, they joined the throng of iPod-wearing, window-gazing students determined to get from one campus to the other without saying a word.

They stopped their chipper bonding with classmates and starting sullenly living for the weekend.
At 8 a.m. on a Monday, I understand this kind of behavior. I might even endorse it if I haven’t had my morning bowl of Lucky Charms yet.

I understand the silence on the early Saturday morning bus of shame, too; sometimes we’d all like to pretend we weren’t riding that particular bus, and silence enables us to temporarily forget our reality.

But why scorn the first-years for their friendly demeanor at 3:30 on a Wednesday? Are we really too hip for conversation?

I do recognize that not everyone shares my affinity for chipper pleasantries (I admit I’ve been described as “terrifyingly friendly” on more than one occasion), but I think it’s high time that we bring at least some of the affable conversation back to our buses.

No, I’m not saying everyone should be required to talk to their neighbors on the bus. Some people are shy, some are socially awkward and others are just plain ornery.

I understand that, and those people don’t have to make small talk about classes and weekend plans.

These people are welcome to turn up their music and pretend the rest of us don’t exist.

But some people welcome the idea of an eight-minute bus buddy. There are those who totally dig the quick bonding process and enjoy making these new friends. A number of people pine for a quick conversation to distract them from the progressively darker, windier days awaiting them on the other side of the bus doors.

And, I ask you, what is wrong with granting these people their wishes? What’s more, what is wrong with granting these people their wishes without scorning them inside your head? I say nothing.

These people are not creepy; they are merely high-spirited. They are not unhinged, but merry. They are simply more jovial than the average bear.

And I can only hope that they are not all first-years.

As it is my hope that their sophomore, junior and senior cohorts will follow their lead and start making friends on the Link again as we edge our way to the end of the semester. Let’s get together, my friends. Let’s get together and bring back the Link love.

Filed under: Opinion by Justin Roth