LAST WEEK, the most mortifying experience of my life finally happened. I caught the bus and was forced to stand up due to its usual overcrowdedness. As more and more bodies pushed and shoved their way through the doors, I found myself trapped in a terrifying situation - I would have to hold on to the overhead railing. For someone of petite stature, like myself - okay, so I don't even reach the five foot mark - this is an impossible feat to accomplish.
Anyone who has ever used UTS transportation knows that when a bus turns the corner, you best hold on for dear life. As I reluctantly accepted my fate, dangling from the railing by two fingertips, the sweetest and most pitiful event occurred. A 70-year-old woman got up out of her seat, approached me and said, "You take it dear. You need it more than I do."
I was mortified. This frail old woman felt sorry for me! It just wasn't right. However, this kind old woman realized something few University students do - short people are often at a disadvantage. Students should go out of their way every once in a while to help them out.
Think of some of the hurdles short people face every day. Just reaching high shelves is a challenge. Want a piece of that carrot cake on the top shelf of the dessert display? Too bad. What about tacking a flier on a bulletin board high enough so everyone can read it, or writing an announcement in the corner of a chalkboard? These are actions the average short person cannot accomplish without the aid of a stepping stool.
Gatherings such as a cappella concerts become a fiasco. The audience members crowd into a small room and crane their necks in order to catch a glimpse of the singers. For the short person, this is a disaster. There is no way he or she will be able to see anything, and the complete experience of a concert cannot be achieved.
Even gatherings that occur at places like the Lawn, where students are forced to sit in folding chairs, are uncomfortable. Because the seats are all placed on one, even level, short people still can't see the action taking place.
There is still one more daily occurrence that is quite possibly the most offensive event of all to short people. Students, friends and acquaintances brush past them without uttering a word in their direction. When questioned about this, the response often is, "I didn't see you! I'm sorry, but you're below my eye level." Students bump into short people in the dining halls, while walking up and down classroom aisles, or strolling down the sidewalk, not because they're careless, but apparently because they can't even see short people. Petite people have to be on constant guard for possible head-on collisions at any moment.
The predicaments short people face may seem trite, but they are embarrassing and can be easily avoided. We must become more sensitive to vertically-challenged students. Very simple steps can be taken to ensure that short people have an easier time around the University.
First of all, if you see short students struggling to pin up fliers or write on blackboards, offer to help them. You can do for them in a minute what would take them 10 minutes of effort. If you are watching a concert, offer the seats in front of you to shorter students, or let them stand in front of you - trust me, you will still be able to see over their heads.
And please, please make an effort to be on the lookout for us short people. We don't need extra bumps and bruises due to being smacked by a stray food tray or bookbag. Make an effort to say "hi" to your short friends. We don't like looking like the most unpopular kids on Grounds simply because we can't be seen.
Oh, and if you are on a crowded bus and you see a short person desperately clinging to the overhead railing in a feeble attempt to maintain her dignity, offer your seat to her. She really does need it more than you do. Unless you are a 70-year-old woman. Then I can manage - but thank you.
(Michelle Drucker's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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