Why does ISU seem to have the most silent of “Silent Code” anywhere out of any campus I have ever visited?

You walk around in total silence, that is if you are without an iPod. The elevators are so quiet all the way up to the 17th floor you can hear a pin drop. No one talks, even if they know each other it is just a quick nod towards the person you know and then staring straight ahead as if there is something mentally wrong with you.

With this code of silence come many problems.

I get on the elevator this morning, and of course, I am always the first person on the elevator when it is going down because I am on the 17th floor. I immediately hide myself in the very back corner, my iPod blaring in my ears at 8:55AM.

By the time the elevator gets to floor 9, the elevator is half-full, most of the people milling around the back walls of the elevator. A girl gets on, and as soon as she turns around, many people take a glance at her backpack.

I, too, look at her backpack, and notice the front-most pocket is wide open - a tampon is hanging out along with her wallet and keys.

How nice.

I look at the other passengers of the elevator car as we stop at Floor 8 - another girl stares transfixed at the open pocket. Another guy gets on the elevator. The girl with the open bookbag gets pushed towards the back, but still in plain view of many people on the elevator.

Of course, no one says anything to the girl.

I am really starting to hate this code of silence now.

Not a single person on the elevator pretends to even notice the girl with the wide-open pocket. The girl right behind the open-pocket woman keeps on staring at the wallet as if she is willing it to fall out or something – it’s creepy.

The elevator gets to floor one, and the girl with the open pocket bursts from the elevator as if she is on fire – she obviously will be late to class and thus is why she ran out with things hanging out of her backpack pocket in the first place. Everyone else follows calmly behind her.

I can’t conform to everyone else. I’ve been in her situation before. One time I walked the entire distance between my room and one of my classes with half of my papers hanging out because one of my larger pockets was open. It makes you feel really dumb that half of the school saw you and you were walking around with your things hanging out of your bookbag and no one said anything.

It’s time for a change.

“Excuse me,” I yell to her, catching up with the girl in the matter of seconds.

“What?” She says, spinning around.

“Your bookbag is open,” I say obviously, pointing at her open pocket. The tampon is about ready to fall out.

“Oh my god. THANK YOU!” She says enthusiastically, pushing the tampon and her wallet back inside the pocket. She zips it up so fast she about tears off the zipper.

“No problem,” I say, continuing to class.

I just hope someone would do the same for me if that ever happened to my own bookbag - again.

List ten things you want to say to ten people but know you never will.
– Don’t say who they are.
– Feel free to comment, but I won’t be confirming your speculations.
– Never discuss it again outside of this post.

This could be interesting…

1. I wish you the best, but I’m not sure that is what you want.

2. I’m sure if you (or maybe it was me?) hadn’t changed so much, we would still be good friends.

3. You need to move away. Now.

4. I get the feeling that we aren’t as close friends as we were earlier this year.

5. I know you have changed but I’m not sure for who - or what.

6. I pretend to not see you when you wave or see me - I’m sorry.

7. I’m not sure I would like the new “you”, if we ever saw each other again.

8. You are much smarter than the job you have now - you need to change before it is too late.

9. You need to learn how to be social before you become a forever-closeted genius.

10. I hope our friendship lasts past college.