Find Out What it Means to You

As students who have recently entered or have been a part of the tertiary education environment, there are two vital facts among many that we cannot deny. The first is that we are no longer in high school; and the second is that although we are no longer in high school, there are many aspects of it that linger within the university environment. The most predominant high school mannerism I have found at NMMU is the lack of respect. Be it towards lectures, fellow students or to ourselves…it seems that when it comes to respect we still don’t know what it means to us.

According to a tumblr website, pale green things, there are two ways in which we can choose to define the term “respect”. Firstly, it can be used to mean or signify the treatment of an individual as a person; and secondly it can be used to mean or signify the treatment of an individual as an authority figure. With regards to the second, most people have the idea that if you do not respect me as an authority, I will not respect you. Perhaps this is where the problem stems from and lies.

Yes, I certainly agree that respect is a two way street, however, that does not mean that we demand respect in order to respect others. Respect comes in varying degrees and differs from person to person, but the underlying principle of it remains the same. “[Respect means having] due regard for someone’s feelings, wishes or rights.”

From fighting with a student for the class register, to yelling at a tutorial leader or arguing with the lecturer about a test mark…we have all witnessed the horror stories or heard the whispers about disrespectful students in lectures and brushed it off as if it was “no big deal”. But it is a “big deal”! The reality is that we are no longer in high school and soon we will be leaving the university environment and entering the working environment; a place where disrespect is not tolerated. The bottom line is that a change in our behavior is needed. Perhaps it calls for a redefinition of the term or from someone to stand up and say “no” to unacceptable behavior.

Or maybe we just need to ask ourselves what is means to us.

#respect