By Andrea Fernandes
Features Editor
Students at Bona’s said they are familiar with rumors and gossip around campus. Everyone seems to understand the effects that rumors have on students who are the subject of the rumor, yet they continue to gossip for a variety of reasons.
According to some students, Bonaventure seems like a second high school in terms of the rumors that spread, and they blame it on the small student population. But it’s not a thing that is present only in small colleges and universities. Gabrielle Hurley, a sophomore finance major, said she believes college students everywhere are prone to gossip.
Hurley spoke of a friend who told her about a recent gossip at Penn State. The gossip involved a student who took laxative pills and proceeded to attend a frat house party. Little did she know, the laxatives would kick in sooner than she thought. Everyone recorded her tragic mishap, sent the video to their friends on campus and then posted it on social media.
“I saw the video and it was embarrassing,” Hurley said. “Students don’t realize the effect they have on each other. Maybe it’s that they lack compassion, or maybe they just act without thinking about how their actions will affect others.”
Hurley added that the only difference between the rumors and gossip at Bona’s compared to larger schools is that we don’t tend to post things targeting a specific student on social media; instead, we pass the message on by talking about it.
“A lot of students just have boring lives here,” Hurley said. “They have a fear of missing out, and as college students, our lives simply revolve around school. The minute we hear someone talking about someone else, everything becomes a little more interesting.”
Jordan Tyson, a freshman strategic communication major, said gossip and rumors on campus might be a distraction from struggles students may be facing.
“If a student is struggling with school or a relationship, it may help that student to gossip and spread rumors about someone else because he or she is going through the same thing,” Tyson said.
Asia Williams, a freshman undeclared science major, said she views students gossiping and spreading rumors about each other as a sort of conversation filler.
“Some students have their guards up and they don’t want to talk about themselves, so they talk about other students,” Williams said. “That way, they have something to talk about with others, without revealing their personal business.”
Williams added that sometimes sharing rumors with another individual is a way of testing his or her trustworthiness.
Tyson said that we should treat others the way we would want to be treated. If students find themselves making something up about another student, they should consider how they would feel if the same thing were said about them.
“My advice to students who are the subject of rumors and gossip: don’t take it personal,” Tyson said. “Those people might be going through things too, so just pray for them.”
fernanal13@bonaventure.edu
