Is Hunter anti-social? I went to speak to strangers on the sky-bridge

One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard around campus (besides broken escalators) is that Hunter is anti-social.

Hunter people just don’t speak to one another much, they say.

But is it? Are we? I decided to design a simple experiment. What would happen if a random student came up to you and tried to engage in a conversation with you?

You just got out of class.

You have a huge gap before your next one since you naturally got screwed over during registration on CUNYFirst.

The library, your usual spot to chill/study, is closed due to flooding and the rest of the floors are crowded like sardines in a can.

Luckily for you, you find a nice spot on the third floor sky-bridge and take a seat. Sanctuary at last!

You relax and take it easy when all of a sudden a student sits next to you. You don’t give him the time of day until you hear someone call out “hello”.

You’ve never seen this guy in your life.

The reporter

He doesn’t seem to be in any of your classes, or he doesn’t even look like your long-lost childhood friend who went missing in a tragic boat accident. Anyway, what do you do?

If Hunter College is – generally speaking – “anti-social”, then people won’t talk or try to engage in a conversation.

Masquerading as an ordinary but friendly student, I went up to random students (all of whom he had no association with, but were merely sitting by themselves) on the sky-bridge and attempted to engage in a conversation with said students.

After the initial exchange, I revealed that I was a writer – much to their surprise, and relief – and asked them what they made of the claim that Hunter kids don’t chat.

Peter, Freshman, Undecided

“It’s true. There’s a lot of students and most are focused on their work.”

Arnab, Sophomore, Undecided

“I don’t think we’re anti-social. People are just shy.”

Umer, Senior, Psychology

“The thing is it’s the school known for people doing their work and leaving. And if people are on their devices, you don’t want to be a bother. So yes, and no.”

Natalie, Sophomore, Sociology

“It’s true. Not that many  people want to talk and start a conversation.”

Forrest, Senior, Music

“It’s true. Hunter doesn’t have a campus, and it’s a commuter school.  The dorms aren’t even close by. There’s no sense of community.”

Ivana, Freshman, Biology

 “I don’t think it’s anti-social. You just have to put more effort.”

I also asked them what they thought of my experiment and what it felt like to be approached by an unknown fellow student for a chat.

Angel, Freshman, Biology

“I really liked it. It makes you feel like you have friends everywhere you go.”

Vincy, Freshman, Undecided

“Surprising, confusing, but I let it happen.”

And I asked some people: Do you think others or yourself should try and talk to random people more often? (Oh and by the way, the pictures of students using their phones and other devices just became a running joke – they weren’t all ignoring me…)

Virginia, Freshman, Psychology

“I’ve done it before.”

Ben, Junior, Sociology

“Yeah most people come to the city for the sights, but people want to make friends.”

I learned a lot from this experience. I’m more of an introverted kind of person. I stick to my small group of friends and I try not to expand it. So this was completely out of character for me, and to tell you the truth, it was nerve wracking at first.

But let me say this: those people that I interviewed are some of the coolest and most interesting people that I’ve met. And without this experiment, I never would have had the chance to meet them.

Will I talk to them again? Perhaps. But what I learned is that sort of thing you find in projects like “Humans of New York” or “The Strangers Project”: everyone has a story.

Hunter is not anti-social, or at least the people aren’t. As Angel so thoughtfully put it, “If you see someone, they’ll follow through.”

Which raises the question of where that notion that Hunter is anti-social has come from.

We have a couple of factors working against us.

Mainly, that Hunter College is a commuter school. People commute to school, go to class, and then commute back home. Even those who dorm still have to commute!

Secondly, that Hunter College doesn’t really have a campus. We have the sky-bridges (which are pretty awesome) and the balcony outside (though it’s closed often), but we have no giant lawn to sit and meet new people. One might argue Central Park is our great lawn, but that’s a bit of a walk.

And there’s the fact that New York is not the friendliest city around. If you go upstate or to any other state, people/strangers on the street will greet you with a smile. We feel that if anyone tries to talk to us, they have ulterior motives like asking for money or donations.

Of course, one shouldn’t feel obligated to socialize. But it did feel nice to talk to people — to know you have friends going through the struggle too.