The halls of Pepperdine are a dangerous place for those who are not gifted in name recollection, and Pepperdine Probz feels your pain.
Every student knows that horrible moment when they are hiking up stairs or waiting in line at the Caf when a complete stranger locks eyes with them, calls them by name, and says “hello.” Whoops, guess they weren’t a complete stranger.
The proceeding course of action is delicate. Do you feign recognition and risk being discovered? Or be honest and possibly hurt the poor passerby’s feelings? Or lastly, the most introverted of options is total diversion. Pretend you can’t hear them and run away as fast is possible.
None of these are ideal.
The safety move however, is the noncommittal wave. Recognition without obligation to stop and say hello is key in a diversionary encounter.
To make matters worse, people at Pepperdine have recall skills that rival elephants. To those students who remember virtually every person they exchanged name, hometown and major with during NSO — we applaud you. But how can one combat such admirable recognition capabilities?
Of course there are many options to the ambitious student. Some make flashcards with the faces of people in the “people you may know” section of Facebook, or regularly test themselves using the “explore” mode offered by Instagram, but the vast number of students is just too much for any mere mortal, non-elephant mind to handle.
Beyond this, the true pinnacle of awkward non-recognition Pepperdine encounters is that of the My Tie date. As if stumbling through an awkward school-sanctioned, polygamist date weren’t enough; that person will now haunt the halls to make sure you feel bad for not recognizing them. Thanks, Pepperdine.
However, hope remains. These are, after all, problems of our own making.
Pepperdine Probz proposes that we have a bit more grace with one another. If someone gives you the courtesy wave, recognize it as an emotional buffer and assist them in remembering your name. We’re all in this together, people (and it shows when we stand hand in hand and make our dreams come true).
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