TMI UMD

The halls of UMD are filled with not-so-secret secrets, from relationship ups and downs to a recollection of stories from the party the night before. Is it that students do not realize that their phone conversations that they have on the way to class or their coffee shop gossip is not always only heard by the intended counterpart, or is it that they just do not care?

Is there a point when sharing information becomes too much information for those around you?

“I live in the dorms, and I hear all sorts of things,� said freshman Taylor Priem. “People talk on their cell phones like no one else can hear them. I once heard a conversation about a girl that was trying to figure out what guy she wanted to be with.�

Intimate details about post-party hookups and all together relationship drama is possibly one of the more common topics of interest for those sharing their stories with whoever is near enough to hear.

An issue that may come up is our freedom of speech. In essence, these intimate details are free to be out in the open, but where is the line that determines what information should remain private, merely for the sake of those around you? Or is that line invisible, unable to be defined. One student’s funny recollection of the night before may be another’s not-so-pleasant way to start their day.

“I think there is a place and time for everything,� said junior Greta Stangl. “When students are telling their stories of being drunk and passing out in front of teachers or their offices, I think that’s too much. You never know when you will run into that teacher again.�

So, is it the where that is the problem, or is it the what?

“I’ve heard people talking about their weekend stories in the library before,� said junior Melany Mayers. “It’s a library. I don’t think anyone needs to tell their stories in the library. They try to whisper, but it’s sometimes more noticeable.�

From hearing a cell phone conversation in the bathroom, to walking to class behind two guys talking about how much they threw up the night before from drinking so much, the stories seem endless. The question arises though, will it ever change, or should it?

Should students be more aware of what information they are putting out there, or should those that are, in a sense, innocent bystanders, act as though they do not hear a thing.