Bring back inconveniencing ourselves to be compassionate in 2026

Recently it’s felt like walking around campus has become a game of dodging and avoiding people to stay out of everyone’s way. It’s like if I make one wrong step, someone will be huffing and puffing at me for causing them to be a couple of seconds later to their destination. 

Don’t get me wrong, I know you’re busy. And maybe the weather is making us all a little bit less sociable, but it surely can’t be that serious, can it? 

I continued to notice this pattern on and off of campus. On one particularly upsetting occasion, I was running late to work, manifesting that the bus would spontaneously speed up, despite the worsening weather conditions. 

Four stops to go and three minutes on the clock, we stopped to pick up a number of people, one of which was an elderly gentleman with a cane. 

Given the large snowbanks, a ramp would be necessary to help the man onto the bus, but to my shock, the bus driver refused. Once most of the pedestrians had boarded, he began to drive away. 

It took the arguing of a couple of people to urge the bus driver to begrudgingly come to a stop and wait for the man to catch up to the bus. 

While the ramp extended from the door of the bus, the driver looked the gentleman in the eyes and told him that if he wanted to ride the bus again, the only option for him would be Para-Transpo. 

Despite all of the hardship that this man had faced, once he entered the bus, not one person offered their seat to him, even those in the priority seating sections of the bus. 

During the whole ordeal, the fact that I was rushing to work did not cross my mind once. I was more concerned that this man was going to be left in the cold for another half hour if we didn’t stop and that he could be injured from not having a seat once he was on the bus. 

I am in full support of knowing your worth and right. You should set boundaries between yourself and other people, but it seems like in the modern world we’ve forgotten the rudimentary golden rule. 

I suggest that we all take a couple steps backward and relearn the idea that you should treat others the way that you would like to be treated, and to put yourselves in other’s shoes. Live in reality and take a moment to remember the skills you learned in kindergarten: give others grace and do your best to create a welcoming environment for all. 

Trust me, it will benefit you too!

• campus
• college
• community
• friendship