I’ve been thinking a bit about elevators now that college is underway. Sure, I rode them every now and then before moving to Milwaukee. Back then elevator rides weren’t too awkward because the people riding with you were usually complete strangers.

But when you’re coming back from doing laundry and someone going to their dorm joins you… sometimes I want to start small talk. The reason for this being that these people aren’t really complete strangers considering that you live in the same building as them and go to the same school. But by the time I do decide to say something, I’m usually 5 seconds away from hitting my floor. Or I get ready to say something but refrain because I realize that they might not want to talk. So we just continue inspecting every corner of that little box until it stops moving.

What do you think, should resident hall elevator rides be subject to a permanent “awkward” label, or should elevator banter be widely accepted and encouraged?