We Are Family (Sister Sledge)

I was just sitting here next to the swiper lady at Lenoir. I heard someone ask for 3 meals – it’s that time of year. Time for those people who don’t have a meal plan to come out of hiding and find those who do and who haven’t used all their meals. It’s a glorious time of community building.

Community.

I remember swiping somebody freshman year at the end of the year when I was said meal-planner-with-extras. Some random guy had positioned himself at the swiper station and just asked if anyone had extra meals. So I swiped him up.

I didn’t think twice about it. He was hungry. My meals were gonna go to waste.

I sat here for a minute thinking “I bet you could get a lot of meals that way…just standing down there and asking if someone has extras.”

Then I wondered, what if the guy I swiped wasn’t really a student. He looked like one, so I wasn’t worried. But what f someone just wanted to get swiped up for some sinister purpose. I could’ve shot up the entire Top of Lenoir – and I would feel horribly guilty for letting him up there in the first place.

Now I realize that this scenario is preposterous. Exams haven’t affected my brain functioning that much. But….it’s interesting to think about.

I trusted him implicitly. I had no qualms with giving him a meal. Cause that’s how our community works. We leave our cell phones and keys on the table in Lenoir. We leave our doors unlocked, if not hanging wide open, when we got to the bathroom or leave to check our laundry. We share public spaces and trust that everyone is just going about their business.

That trust has been violated on other campuses. Virginia Tech students also trusted each other implicitly. But that trust was broken when a student shot up a classroom.

That trust was mildly broken when Eve Carson was tragically killed. Girls can’t stop looking over their shoulders now when they’re out at night.

It’s tragic really.

What about my Governor’s School campus? There must be some level of trust amongst the students and staff this summer. I talked with a friend today about the possible health and safety issues I will face. I’ll have to be on the lookout for eating disorders and depression in my girls. Again, your imagination could go wild with tragic scenarios of a depressed A-student run amuck. It doesn’t do any good to dwell on these “what if”s. But some part of my brain needs to be prepared for these possible realities.

I guess I write all this to say how grateful I am that we have such a sense of trust here at UNC. It’s a massive operation they have going at this institution – a huge community. But I still don’t mind leaving my wallet at the table in Lenoir, or swiping up some random person who needs a meal.

And all that from the echo of “Can I get 3” from the swiper station.

I should go study now.