We are being asked to speak up on a variety of issues these days. The administration and GSB, along with several other organizations, want students’ opinions on Veishea, diversity issues, tuition hikes, you name it.

If you want your thoughts to be known, and you feel like talking (or writing), I think you should go for it. However, I also think silence is underrated.

What does a person’s silence tell you? If you are with a person who isn’t saying much, does that mean she is stuck-up, ignorant, mad or unopinionated? I don’t think we can make such generalizations.

Perhaps that person is just not feeling talkative. Maybe she is shy or quiet in nature. Or maybe, just maybe, she just doesn’t want to talk to you.

It seems to me if you continually spout your opinions, people tend to quit listening. They either get bored or they eventually have heard all your arguments.

Think about it. If someone writes a letter to the editor every other day, for instance, do you read every letter?

I have to admit I don’t. I read a few, until I get the gist of his or her stance on things, and then I get cocky. I may skim for highlights, but I assume I know what he or she is going to say. Of course, sometimes I become a big fan of that person, and I scan the paper every day, hoping he or she wrote in. But that doesn’t happen too often.

On the other hand, if you are normally quiet, people listen more carefully when you actually say something. Their ears perk up, so to speak. “What does this person have to say?” they wonder. They figure it must be important. Of course, that is assuming you have managed to get a word in edgewise.

Then again, most of us are not as comfortable hanging out with quiet people. You’ve heard of the long, awkward pause. But what is so uncomfortable about silence?

A pause in the conversation means you have to think. Either you’re thinking about what you were just talking about or what you are going to say next.

People don’t like to have to think anymore. After all, why else do we get drunk? Plus, we’ve developed minuscule attention spans. Too much staring at the tube, I tell you. TV is the root of all evil.

It may be more comfortable for most, but I think mindless chatter is annoying. One of my pet peeves is running into someone I kind of know, but not really. I feel obligated to participate in the standard conversation. You know how it goes.

“Hey, how ya doin’?”

“Fine, how are you?”

“Fine.”

“Well, see ya round.”

“Yeah, see ya!”

Enlightening, isn’t it? If you have to ask how someone is, at least give an honest answer. Fine, okay and alright are not acceptable.

Hey, I’m guilty of this one, too. I start out saying fine, okay or alright. Then I stumble in the middle and change my answer to tired, bored or apathetic. Usually I get a smile and a nod.

Of course, sometimes, you are mad. And when you are, silence can be a powerful weapon. You all know this as the silent treatment. Sometimes, nothing says more than nothing.

Consider this hypothetical example. Two people are arguing; let’s just say a woman and a man.

The woman gets frustrated. The woman says, “You must think I’m really stupid!” Now, what do you think the man would say? Well, in this hypothetical scenario, the man doesn’t say anything.

Hmmm… I think his response is clear, don’t you?

Yes, silence can get you in trouble. Invariably, after the fact, I think of a million things I should have said. I also think of things I shouldn’t have said, and things I should or shouldn’t have done.

I rewind the videotape of my life, editing all those moments again and again. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a good way to broadcast the tape yet.

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Catherine Conover is a junior in liberal studies from Mapleton.