And now…the answer to the question that Northern Illinois University has been asking itself for 15 years…

I don’t know.

Okay, okay, so I haven’t been here for fifteen years, I’ve only been here for, well, let’s just say several. But I still don’t know the reason for all this social tension that can best be described as one big, hairy ball of attitude.

You know what I mean. It’s that prevailing sense of hostility you get each morning when you join the ranks of marching zombies on their way to classes.

It’s that unspoken “I’m going to insult you until your ears bleed” attitude that people tend to take on when crammed into a local bar or basement party.

I mean, why is it that any attempt to be friendly toward a perfect stranger, even just to say “Hi,” is viewed as an acute case of brain damage on this campus?

Why is there this feeling when crossing Normal road that the person who just whizzed over your toes would have really liked to destroy you with his radiator grill?

Why is it that when you’re trying to get on a Huskie bus in bad weather it seems people would rather see each other spewed beneath the tires than have to share a seat?

Maybe it’s just me, but I have a problem with this.

I’ve often posed these questions to a variety of people who have been here longer than I have. Their answers would seem to make life at NIU seem rather dismal.

One possible explanation is the logistics of NIU. This campus is basically an island, isolated by an hour’s drive in any direction to the next major city.

It doesn’t appear that the city of DeKalb was prepared to handle scores of university students. We are restricted to a handful of bars, all of which are often ovecrowded and people of varying interests are forced to blend into the mainstream in order to loosen up on the weekends.

Speaking of varying interests, two of the best schools on campus with the largest draws are business and visual arts. Not exactly two peas in a pod.

It doesn’t seem to be so surprising that when people sporting mohawks, nose-rings and other physical manifestations of self-expression walk into a bar where the majority of people are largely conservative, there’s bound to be a slight amount of conflict.

Last, but certainly not least, is the view many people have of NIU itself as a second-choice school. Chances are, if you didn’t come here for the business school or one or two other noted departments, you came here because you couldn’t get into or couldn’t afford to go someplace else.

But why the attitude?

I don’t get it. Okay, so maybe you’re busy and you just don’t have time to smile at anybody. Come on.

It might be Unity in Diversity week, but I’ll bet you nothing will change as far as the more subtle differences between people goes.

The ironic thing about our attitudes toward each other on this campus is that we’re all here—this is where our college years are taking place. And no matter why we came here, what we look like, or where our interests lie, this is it.

Woe, heavy sigh. But there might be a slightly detectable glimmer of hope for our campus. Maybe it’s just me getting older, but I seem to perceive, if nothing else, a greater awareness of this hairy ball attitude.

Somewhere along the way, I think NIU students will grow tired of this self-defeating array of hostility and grow to have more respect for each other. Then maybe the quality of university life will see some improvement, no matter what the budget restrictions neglect to give us in the future.

For now, it’s Friday! If for no other reason, at least today you have something to smile about.