By Kimiko Martinez
Pepperdine people are polite.
Really. I’m not just trying to flex my alliteration. I’ve noticed in the last week or so how perfectly polite our students are.
On the Graphic’s recent trip to Orlando for a journalism conference, one of the employees at a restaurant we visited commented that we were the nicest group of college students that they’d had in. Perhaps it’s because, as a whole, our students are the type of people who hold doors open for others, say “please” and “thank you,” and tell our shuttle drivers to “have a nice day.”
But this habit of kindness extends beyond just our students and is evident in staff and faculty as well, from smiling Cindy in the Caf to the quietly kind Facilities Management and Planning employees.
There are multiple factors that could explain this politeness phenomenon, from socioeconomic backgrounds to religious upbringings that encourage these types of behaviors. But regardless of the reasoning — and it could be a whole research paper for someone who really wanted to take the time to find out (hint, hint, all you Com 300 students) — we should just enjoy the fact that we are surrounded by these types of people.
It’s just something else that sets us apart.
Speaking of Orlando, let me tell you how much I love traveling.
So much, there are hardly words I can think of to describe it.
I mean, what’s not to love about economy class seats with negative amounts of legroom and bathrooms the size of a closet, assuming you can actually get out of your seat to get to it.
Seeing as we’re such a polite group, many of us discussed the fact that we usually wait for someone else in our row to get up before making a quick exodus to the latrine or simply hold it until we get to our destination.
It wouldn’t be such a big deal if there were actually enough room to get by our fellow travelers, but there’s barely enough room for a person’s knees between themselves and the economy seat in front of the them, let alone a whole other body to sneak by. Plus, half the time these other people are either asleep or working away with their tray tables not in the upright position, but down to accommodate their laptop computers so they can maximize their time and efficiency while traveling.
But that’s just the on-the-plane problems.
Off the plane in the airport, there’s a host of other irritations, like one-ply toilet paper and the $3 price tag on a bottle of Coke (or Pepsi, as it seems most airports and their establishments are solely one or the other).
But, like many other painful experiences, we humans have selective memory and quickly forget the bad and retain the good.
I can hardly wait to go away again.
—Got a gripe? E-mail Kimiko Martinez at kimiko.l.martinez@pepperdine.edu
November 07, 2002