Opinion: Unspoken Social Codes of BC

Opinions

Unspoken Rules of BC At Boston College there are many rules. Don’t drink underage, don’t smoke weed and don’t have a Keurig in your room. As many RA’s and BCPD will tell you, these rules are quite often disregarded and broken.

Meanwhile, there are strict, unspoken social rules on campus that only a few radicals would ever dare to break.

Most people can handle getting written up once or twice, but can anyone really stand being socially ostracized or receiving disdainful glares from classmates from going against these rules?

By Tim Coogan / Gavel Media Staff Rule #1 — Shh…It’s Bapst

Probably the most well known social rule on campus is that you must be silent in Bapst Library. I remember that on my first visit to BC the tour guide warned the group to be silent as we walked up the grand staircase. Despite our best efforts the sounds of the tour group succeeded in drawing the attention and scornful glares of the students studying.

There is no whispering, no chewing and

16

no music blasting out of your headphones (which are probably Dr. Dre Beats). Even opening your backpack zipper too loudly can cause what seems to be the entirety of the students in Bapst to turn their heads towards you with a look of fiery disdain.

Many pre-med students have even discouraged others from breathing so that they can more effectively study for that big chemistry exam.

Rule # 2 — Using a Tray is “Social Suicide”

Thanks to the recent blizzard, BC students now know the only use for dining hall trays is sledding. From experience, I’ve never seen those trays used for anything else. I observed a senior male telling a freshman girl in the first week of school that taking a tray is “social suicide.” Now, will your friends actually abandon you forever the second you come to a table with a tray? Who knows? I’m pretty sure nobody has ever dared to try.

The anti-tray movement at BC is definitely a bizarre social code. Trays are very convenient, especially when you have a plate, silverware, napkins and a drink to carry until you find a table. However, when nobody is using them, people forget that they are even there. Going tray-less is part of the dining hall culture, and using one can be a giveaway that you are a first week freshman or that you don’t even go here.

Rule #3 — Do not sit next to anyone, ever If you’re thinking about sitting at a table at the Rat with more than two strangers, you should probably think again. Few BC students muster up the courage to go against the Rat “stack system,” where two fellow students sit at opposite corners of the table and dare not to make eye contact.

March 2013

Even when students get desperate and decide to be the third stranger at a table, they usually ask permission to sit down. This system is not confined to the Rat though, and can be seen at tables all across campus.

Of course, you are bound to see various tables filled with friends, and numerous duos sitting directly across from each other. Only once in my time at BC has someone that I did not know sit directly next to me. There was space at the table to have one chair between all parties sitting.

However, the unknown person saw that there was nothing wrong with the chair next to me, and he took his seat. It was not some terrifying or a life defining experience to sit so close to someone, but still we avoid it like the plague

Rule #5 — The Hillside Elevator

The Million Dollar Stairs are beautiful, especially in the spring and summer when all the shrubs and flowers are in full bloom. However, for those not looking to have a quick workout before class, the Hillside elevator is the only way to climb the Heights. Take caution though

Rule #4-Thank you for not smoking

Smoking does not fly with the health conscious, calorie counting, Plex-addicted Boston College population. With the exception of the typical congregation outside of O’Neill Library, it is rare to see more than one student smoking a cigarette on campus at any time. I’ve even witnessed other students telling fellow students, whether they are good friend or just acquaintances from class, that they should quit smoking because of the health risks.

While some of our social codes may be ridiculous (the trays phemonena) and uncalled for, this is definitely a social rule that we can be proud of. Cigarettes are proven to cause various forms of cancer and increase other health risks like coronary heart disease. Additionally, second-hand smoke from cigarettes has been proven to be a carcinogen. As a highly educated community it is an excellent thing that we discourage this self-destructive addiction.

www.bcgavel.com

because those elevators maintain some of the strictest social rules places on campus.

Unless you are physically unable to do so, DO NOT take the Hillside elevator to any floor except level four. Get off on the third floor and the BC community may forgive you. Take the elevator to the second floor though and you will feel immense amounts of hate from the packed elevator as you walk out, if the crowd even lets you out.

If you thought Bapst was silent, you really haven’t experienced the Hillside elevator. After shuffling in with as many people

can fit, no one dares to talk to each other.

There is only painful, awkward silence as people pretend to check their iPhones.

Rule #6 — You’re Here to Look Good, Not Work Out The students at Boston College work up a mean sweat every day at the Plex, sculpting and toning their bodies to per-

fection. Going to work out at BC is more than just the exercise aspect though. People feel the need to follow the Plex dress code. Usually this involves the typical Under Armour, Nike and lululemon athletica for the girls. Maybe even a shirt with the sleeves cut off for the guys who are really getting “swoll” on.

It’s not just about what you wear though, it is where you wear it. Guys belong by the heavy weights and mirror. If they want to do cardio, it’s either the treadmill or a bike. Ellipticals, a machine that most guys deem too “feminine” for them, and the majority of the floor mats are reserved for the ladies.

Are our strict social rules the reason we are often referred to by outsiders as homogenous? Some are, but in the end it’s just weird quirks that our school has. Every school has them, and BCPD definitely won’t go after you if you’re a man on an elliptical.

17