Sketchy Letters

Dear Dec,

I'm upset. At a university with such a penchant for making claims about the overall friendliness and general intellectual and outgoing nature of its students, the number of empty, mindless phrases confronting me on a daily basis astounds me. When I meet someone with whom I have spent a countless number of lecture hours, the most engaging, thought-provoking question either of us can bring to a conversation is "What did you do this past weekend?" or its bastard cousin "What are you doing this weekend?" Every Monday and Tuesday I am greeted with the former, every Thursday and Friday the latter. Wednesdays call for a break in the norm with the wistful statement "I can't wait for the weekend." What happened to actually getting to know someone? The outright hypocrisy is astounding. People greet each other with the greatest of interest, but can only manage to utter the most vacant and insipid remarks. The most appealing conversation I've had this semester was on the first day back from Spring Break. Neither of us mentioned anything about our breaks -- there are other things to talk about, ya know.

Now Dec, I know you can't correct for the inherent phoniness of the masses, but maybe by blatantly pointing out the silliness of the university, someone will notice, laugh, then realize the joke is on them.

Deon Clarati
CLAS IV