The words that you use are really important when you’re trying to achieve a desired effect from others. Word choice is something authors and readers alike will ponder until the end of time. Literary lovers want to figure out… what were they trying to say? But, words have the power to heal as well as hurt.
Do you always think about the way your words may come off to others? Recently, some word choice has slightly offended me as a member of the PSU community. Walking to my house off-campus I have been surrounded by signs that say, “A Family lives here. Please respect our property and your community.”
Who are these signs directed at, you might ask? PSU students are one target. I feel partially insulted by these signs because, why are they up in the first place? It is usually only a small portion of students who are reckless and would actually destroy the property of others. So what effect are the signs supposed to have?
It seems to me as if these signs are more to distinguish houses that are strictly “townies” from the student population. If anything, this sign screams to me, “You’re a disturbance and not welcome.” But, this town does not just belong to either group of people.
As far as I am aware, the University isn’t going anywhere any time soon. How is the best solution at the moment for coexisting these signs? This is where I find word choice to be extremely important and partly offensive.
Let’s start with the top of the sign. “A Family lives here.” Well, I’m pretty sure a family of some type lives in every house in Plymouth. With the definition of a family something that’s constantly changing, why should the fact that I live with two friends make a difference? People co-exist in many homes off campus… so why is your family any more important than mine?
We still pay the rent and respect our property, but now every day I have to look at obnoxious reminders that some community members don’t want us around. Would Plymouth really be so much better for townspeople if college students didn’t live around them? It’s like moving to New York City and complaining about smog, noise and lights.
Plymouth wouldn’t be nearly as economically stable without all of the revenue that the students give the community. We work at the shops downtown. We eat from the local restaurants. We have as much of a right to reside here and not feel alienated as anybody else.
So, what is the desired effect of the signs? Wouldn’t it make more sense if what a Plymouth resident wants is respect from college-aged neighbors to give them some, as well?
If a concerned community member of Plymouth came over to me and expressed some concerns politely and calmly, I would respect them for treating me like an adult and talking with me, first of all. Then I would think in my head every time I got loud, for example, “Oh you know what, I bet so-and-so can hear this. I’ll turn it down.”
For every sign I see on a lawn I see the person in fear of their college neighbors. Most students are genuinely friendly at Plymouth. Even “townies” too. It’s sad that some residents have so little faith in the student population that they have to try and separate themselves on the same street, even.
You read a sign and think a certain thing. The instant that I read those signs I thought they were pretty pointless. If the desired affect you want is harmony, try holding out the olive branch yourself instead of making it sound like you think all college kids are hooligans.
No student will respect you if you don’t respect them as well. I’d like to ask the townspeople with the signs, “What was it like when you were our age? Did people underestimate you, as much as you do to us?”