By Loren Terveer, Contributing Writer
You are laying in bed after a long day of classes and activities. Your eyes slowly shut and your mind wanders. You begin to drift into sleep as the warm blankets cocoon you in comfort. Just as your breathing falls into a sleepy rhythmic beat you hear it. SLAM! Your neighbor comes home and slams their front door. THUMP! THUMP! The students who live upstairs begin to move their furniture into a new feng shui. CLICK! The light claws at your eyelids as your roommate comes into the room and switches on the overhead lamps. The distractions pile up, flooding your ears, and the mere idea of sleep eludes you. You are officially awake for the night.
For many McKendree students, this situation is too familiar. One of the biggest frustrations in regards to living in the University housing are other inconsiderate students. Students who shout at all hours of the morning and night, who rev their car engines as to display some sort of dominance over other car owners, and those who believe that everyone wants to hear the bass of their music at three o’clock in the morning. Halie Schrader, a former Bearcat, can attest to these complaints. “I remember being awake until three or so in the morning because the guys who lived on the floor below us would blast their music so loud it would rattle our floor. It was really distracting, I could not sleep or focus on any homework.” Another McKendree student, Tyana Williams said, “Sometimes the guys on my floor like to play sports in the hallway. It’s really loud and distracting, especially when I’m trying to get homework done.” Whether or not the intention of inconsiderate students is to make others lose focus or sleep the fact is that they are doing just that by choosing not to be mindful of their actions.
The key is to be mindful. On a college campus the definition of mindfulness can be described in a few different ways. Many times, an emphasis on mindfulness on college campuses is applied to issues like diversity and inclusion. While these are important issues, it seems that we forget to be mindful of each other as students with the same goal, to graduate. We go to college to get an education and a degree. The person living in Walton has the same goal as the person living at McKendree West. Both are students who go to class and want to get a degree.
Being considerate of those around you and not shouting at the top of your lungs or revving your car engine at all hours of the night is, in a roundabout way, you helping your fellow students graduate. If we as a community focused on doing this, we all would benefit. So next time you find yourself walking outside McKendree West with your friends, take a moment to think of those students behind the walls you are passing. What kind of day did they have, are they stressed? Consider these things and understand that you can help this student by keeping your voice down or quieting down your music. You are doing a bigger part than you realize and everyone appreciates it. Be mindful, it doesn’t take much and it makes all the difference.
All photo sources: www.mckendree.edu
