The Collegian

Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: News

It seems that in large classes,

it's easy to fall prey to social norms and create an unofficial seating structure as if those seats were assigned.

When entering early to a crowded class, have you ever taken advantage of the "first come, first serve" seating policy that is standard in most classes at Saint Mary's? Did you notice when you did it that people became really pissed off at you for messing up the structure that wasn't supposed to exist?

It seems so petty that something as miniscule as a seating switcheroo can be so upsetting. Hello, it's public domain; I don't believe you have a property label on that seat.

Yet, there are many who respond this way and not only to seating change, but also to a variety of subtle changes in the teaching and learning styles, such as having professors with accents, utilizing a specific type of pen to take notes, and gratuitous use of highlighters.

One must wonder, what is the reasoning behind these nerdy comforts?

It seems that these needs are indicators of insecurity-protectors from the unknown. However, what gets me is that it is such an oxymoron. We are here at college-a liberal arts college to be exact-to learn and experience new things, to delve into the unknown, and to receive a broad and integrated education. One would think that after years of seminar roundtables that we've learned to apply this to how we learn and to how we socially interact.

Perhaps students feel that there are magical spots in the classrooms where they can learn the best. F.N. Jones and J.B. Cooper say otherwise in their empirical research article, The Relation Between College Grades and Class-Room Seating Position: "12 semesters of grades from an economics course at the University of California, some 5,000 cases in all, were analyzed with reference to the seating position of the students. No evidence for seating advantages was found."

Perhaps it's just the Saint Mary's cultural environment that fosters this concept of easily-violated personal space, self-centeredness, and rigid habits. We can pretend to broaden our minds and learn respect for others, while staying secure in our homey and padded bubble, protected from the real world-it encapsulates the feelings of insecurities and doesn't work to force them out.

I highly doubt that at urban universities a fit would be tossed if someone "stole" someone else's seat.

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