OP-ED: University of Virginia Students, Act Your Age

Bullying — that term we associate with middle school and high school — we have all witnessed it, and perhaps a majority of us have done it. Once in college, though, one would think most students would have outgrown it. Sure, there is the traditional first-year hazing. Yes, this is bullying, but it is also a practice that first-years expect and are many times willing to endure. At the University though, I have begun to witness a different kind of bullying. I came to this school expecting to find a plethora of kids like myself, driven when it comes to academics and also able to relax and have a little fun when the time comes. And for the most part, this is what I have found. I have always associated this school with honor and respect and again, for the most part, this is what I see. But for a certain group of students these terms seem to have been thrown out the window. Yes, I am talking about the now well-known “not gay” chants during the “Good Ol’ Song.” It may seem like a petty matter to be writing an entire column on, but it is petty matters like these that are liable to mushroom into larger problems. No one wants that to happen.