I am currently sitting in the Tower Caf?© mortified and surrounded by bare feet. There is a girl to the left of me bobbing her head to the music surrounding her ears. She is completely oblivious to the fact that her bare, wiggling toes are less than two feet away from my face.
She's not even comfortable. She keeps adjusting, readjusting and moving around. Perhaps it's a new trend? To my right there is another young girl resting her bare feet on the marble table.
On the table.
The very same table upon which this girl's feet are splayed is one where I ate many a time last semester. I'm not alone in my repulsion; I see the girl sitting next to her eyeing her feet as well, but she's just oblivious. That's two people in a five-foot radius with zero consideration for their fellow neighbors.
When I sit on an airplane and the person (usually a kid) next to me has his or her bare feet on the tray table, I get the same feeling of disgust. I don't understand why anyone would think that it is okay to throw their feet about in public.
Do people like the thought of licking other's people feet? (Let's leave kinky cases out of this.) How about the thought of smelling other people's feet? No, no, no! In our society, feet are known to be dirty, smelly and unpleasant; I mean come on, I don't even want to be close to my own feet.
By the way, as I type, the girl next to me just moved her foot even closer to me!
Why don't people get it? It is just plain common sense! You would think attending Tufts University would be enough to figure out that being barefoot in a caf?© is not only rude, it's despicable. It says, "I don't care about anyone but me and my own comfort."
Imagine going into work and putting your bare feet on your desk or going to a client's job site, or anywhere else professional. Imagine walking into your dean's office and he or she has his or her bare feet on the desk. It would never happen, because it's not okay.
We are here to get ready for the real world. Speaking from experience as a Resumed Education for Adult Learners student, you can trust me, people: No one will take off his or her shoes in a professional atmosphere. My rampage has turned into concern; these kids need to understand it's not okay. When their rude habits leave Tufts, they're in for a big surprise.
Is it that unreasonable to ask that people keep their shoes on in obvious places? Take 'em off at the beach, at home or in a Japanese restaurant - I don't care! But please keep them on when you're next to the poor girl on the couch trying to concentrate.
And for crying out loud, please keep them off the table!
I came in here just to eat my lunch and read some books for class, but I got too distracted by disgust. To vent, I decided to write this piece. I'm not the type of person to say, "Can you please get your feet out of my personal space?" I'm shy, hate controversy and I can't go around telling everyone I see with bare feet that they are rude and inconsiderate. I see enough people reading the paper that I figure if my rampage does get published, the bare feet people might read and understand what they are doing wrong.
And just in case you are someone who doesn't notice the barefoot problem, be aware they are out there, so think twice before eating on a table on campus.
Nadia C. Di Marco is a sophomore majoring in clinical psychology.
