Please and thank you. Saying “yes ma’am” or “no sir.” Opening doors for people.

These are all lessons that we were taught as children, but Ed Board has noticed that a few people around campus have forgotten these basic rules of society.

Although we realize that your parents are no longer around you all the time to correct your manners, that’s no excuse to completely ignore people or treat them rudely.Is it really such an inconvenience to open a door for someone, especially if they’re carrying something heavy?

Is it that taxing to remember to say “please” and “thank you?” Is it just too embarrassing to treat your professors and the SMU staff members with the respect they deserve by referring to them as “sir” or “ma’am?” Barney and Friends would be ashamed if they knew you’d forgotten all of the lessons they taught you, not to mention your parents. Unless your rich daddy is just as bad as you are.

It’s called common courtesy for a reason, people.

There’s no excuse to act any other way. This is especially true if you classify yourself as a “true gentleman” or a “man with integrity.” If you fall into this category, start acting like it! There are two fraternities on campus whose rituals pride on “how to be a gentleman.” So where are you guys?

Don’t just wear the t-shirt and recite Robert E. Lee in chapter.

Act it out!

Ed Board doesn’t want to seem biased, and so we encourage women to hold themselves to the same standards.

Just because you expect the door to be held open for you, it doesn’t mean you can’t respond with a “thank you.” Also, ladies, if you see someone carrying something heavy or maneuvering a wheelchair or on crutches, you are not excused from opening the door just because you are a woman. Unless your oversized Louis Vuitton is weighing you down.

Honestly, you’d be surprised how far manners can get you in this world.

You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, as the old adage goes. A simple smile can brighten someone’s day. A please and thank you can mean the difference between getting an extension on that Literature paper or working until 4 AM to make the deadline.

Ed Board urges everyone to start acting like the adults we so strive to be in college. We all know basic manners, so let’s use them!