Treat Others with Courtesy by Practicing Civility on Campus

Learning how to navigate a college campus, create a class schedule from a myriad of options, and live away from your family are among the many challenges students face.

Another challenge: How to interact with other students who are different from you, with different viewpoints and ways of responding to the world. It can be easy to be told to practice civility, but what does that look like to a college or university student?

1. Disrespectful behavior. Talking over others; interrupting an instructor, coach, or classmate; and making derogatory remarks are all examples of rude conversational practices.
2. Bullying and harassment. This can take the form of targeted verbal attacks or excluding someone based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics.
3. Microaggressions. These are subtle, often unintentional behaviors or comments that sound hostile or insulting toward people in marginalized groups, such as comments about someone’s accent or making assumptions about another person’s background.
4. Hostile environment. These can include conflicts with a roommate escalating into personal attacks, vandalizing personal property, or creating an uncomfortable living situation.
5. Online behavior. Students might encounter cyberbullying, trolling, or harassment that affects their well-being or ability to feel safe on campus.

Seung Whan Ryu, SHRM-CP, winner of the SHRM Foundation’s 2024 Student Chapter Advisor Impact Award, offered the following tips for practicing civility. Ryu is an assistant professor of management at Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology in Fairfield, Conn.

Ryu’s recommendations:

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