The problem with the general population

I am writing to express my disagreement with Steve Williams' characterization of Tufts students as "spineless sycophants" who possess "an overwhelming and completely undeserved sense of entitlement" in his Viewpoint ("The problem with Tufts," Oct. 14).

The piece a number of behaviors he feels are common among Tufts students, among them littering in the campus center, not thanking cafeteria workers, and cheering at poor displays of sportsmanship during an Athletics-Red Sox game screening in Hotung. While the Viewpoint does begin fairly with the assertion that "Tufts is not all bad," I want to address some faults I found with the bitter generalizations of Tufts students that came later.

Williams' Viewpoint at first implies that only some people engage in each irritating behavior, but then goes on to generalize the issue as a campus-wide problem of a sense of entitlement. While I do occasionally notice the behaviors mentioned, I want to emphasize that no one is perfect. While students still have no right to litter and be rude, I attribute these actions to a generation-wide, perhaps even nation-wide, carelessness due to laziness and busy schedules, not to some special characteristic of Tufts students alone.

Actually, I have found Tufts students to be very thoughtful and concerned with bettering the lives of others. As a freshman, I was immediately impressed by the kindness, friendliness and concern with social change so many people exemplified. Also, according to Tufts E-News, the University's public relations website, by March 2002 more Tufts alumni had become Peace Corps volunteers than alumni of any other university or college of similar size; additionally, over 1,000 Tufts students volunteer with Leonard Carmichael Society.

Despite saying all this, I want to stay away from generalizations of all Tufts students. We are diverse in terms of ethnicity, nationality, background and personality; William's generalizations only indicate behavior that is common to the national (and maybe international) population.

Littering is not a problem unique to Tufts: the state of California spends $100 million per year cleaning up roadside litter. In a 1990 experiment, 37 percent of subjects who found a flier placed on their windshield dropped the flier on the ground. In a 1997 study of table littering at Ball State University, 29.3 percent of observed tables in a library caf?© were left with trash on them. Coincidentally, for one of my classes I recently conducted a (somewhat informal) study on prosocial behavior, which included measuring how many customers at Dunkin' Donuts in Porter Square thanked the cashier in three separate conditions. Overall, 42 out of 121 subjects -- that's about 35 percent -- did not thank the cashier. Sadly, the disrespect that "indicates a sense of entitlement among Tufts students" is common to the larger population.

I also want to address the behavior at the baseball game screening in Hotung, where, according to Williams, viewers "gleefully jeered Barry Zito (the A's pitcher) during replays that revealed the pitcher's forlorn expression as Manny's ball sailed out of the park." While I wasn't at Hotung at the time, it seemed like people simply reacted to an expression the pitcher made when he realized he had given up a home run. Ever see any slapstick humor? It's funny when people mess up, when they trip, when they accidentally give up a run and look dumbfounded by their error. It isn't nice to laugh at others' mistakes, but it's hard not to find them funny.

The other day I slipped on a watermelon rind in front of Tisch (don't ask me what it was doing there), nearly did the splits and landed on my butt, yet when I got up, I encouraged some bystanders trying to stifle giggles to go ahead and laugh -- heck, it was funny. When we find something humorous, we cannot always immediately think of the lack of sportsmanship exhibited in the situation, especially in a setting like a baseball viewing, where team coalition and prejudice toward the out-group, the other team, are rampant. Tufts students are people, and while most of us have some admirable characteristics that allowed us to be admitted here, we're only human, and we all have faults.

But I do appreciate some of Williams' points. It disappoints me to see students working at Brown and Brew spend a half an hour cleaning up after others at 1 a.m., and angers me when the griller at the Campus Center Commons doesn't always get a "thank you." However, instead of blaming people for acting this way, I want to use this space to encourage readers to go out and show a little more respect. Look around when you leave the table, and pick up the empty soda can that was there when you sat down. Thank the women and men who cook your food, swipe your card and clean your dorm. Put away the Daily -- yes, even the crossword -- during class and give your professors some respect. I'm not saying that I'm perfect and always do the things I recommend here, but I'll try along with all of you. And conformity research shows that prosocial behavior spreads: kindness is infectious. Start showing some respect, and others will follow.

Gina Kessler is a junior majoring in Psychology and English.