EVERYONE has a few. You pass by them every day. Perhaps it is in the computer lab, or maybe one of the fitness centers. It could be that you spot them on Thursday nights on the Corner. Or maybe you've shared a few classes with them over the years, but have not spoken a word to one another. These are the people we pass every day, but ironically, we have no concrete relationship with them. Despite our lack of serious contact, the almost-anonymous strangers who populate our daily lives are one of the key elements that make our university the University.
In many ways, this is a phenomenon unique to a college lifestyle. Particularly in a college town such as Charlottesville, we encounter the same population of people everywhere we go. Whether it is in class, the gym, church, dining halls or in bars, we see the same people, more or less. Clearly, the situation is not like high school, where there is a good chance you personally would know all the people around you. But by the same token, it is not as anonymous as a large city either.
Since we are human beings, we are bound to end up forming an opinion of each of these regular passers by, who add color to the backdrop here at the University. It is impossible for us to remember each member of the cast of characters that pass by us every day without a word. The reason we remember these chosen few strangers is that they have formed a strong impression upon us. Typically, these impressions break down along two dimensions: people we enjoy seeing from time to time, and people who - for whatever reason - have a powerful ability to annoy us.
Every University student would interpret the two types of daily strangers they encounter in a different way. Personally, I break it down between "hot chicks" and "guys I want to punch in the face." But that's just me. We each have our own unique ways of describing the people we see on an almost-daily basis but likely will never meet formally.
You might even share these descriptions with your group of friends. Oftentimes, you give these people pet names. These names in turn become a running joke between you and your friends. Each student has his own group of fellow students that he does not know, but cannot help but encounter in some form on a regular basis.
Why bother to bring this up now? Well, the beginning of my final semester here has been a very sobering experience. It makes you realize that you only have about four months left to do all the things you wanted to do here as a student at the University.
In addition, you come to understand that this surrounding "cast of characters" you have grown accustomed to over the past few years will all be gone soon. It is a fairly insular existence we lead here in Charlottesville. And whether we leave this existence in one semester or seven, the fun has to end at some point.
Yet no American college experience would be complete without an honest recognition of the powerful role that all these unknown fellow students play in our lives. These students are those beautiful girls you see out with friends at O'Neill's and the Biltmore on the weekends. These students are that jackass that dips chewing tobacco all the time on the first floor of the library. These students are the people you saw at the same frat parties first year - but still have no idea who they are. These students are the familiar faces you have known and recognized for your entire time here at the University. But until this point, you have known them for nothing more than just that - a face.
We categorize these faces because most of our minds operate that way. We divide these faces along the simplest dimensions - those that produce a positive reaction within us, and those that provoke a negative one - because it feels more natural, and it honestly is more fun that way. But in the end - and I am just as guilty of this as anyone - we are depriving ourselves of one more story, and maybe even one more "University experience."
Perhaps the next time we should take that one extra step to meet the person who until now has existed as merely a familiar face in a crowd. Even if the conversation lasts less than a minute, at least the air of the unknown will no longer be there.
Most University students, particularly those in their final months in Charlottesville, think about their college experience and focus on their friends. But it is only fair to take the time to sit and reflect on the parade of people we live and study near - none of whom we have ever met. In our remaining time here - however much that is - if we can manage to cross off even one face from the "unknown" column, our University memories will be that much the richer.
(Timothy DuBoff's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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