We are ... Penn State? Yes, we are.

We are ... anti-social? Inconsiderate? Isolationists? Maybe.

I was sitting in front of Old Main last week, the weather was beautiful and, of course, students filled the entire lawn. It was the picture perfect, quintessential college moment. One of those moments directors and writers try to capture in movies and television. After all, aren't college brochures always featuring beautiful campuses with students playing Frisbee, studying, or doing whatever on a lawn?

As I sat there, I noticed a group of parents and kids on a tour of the campus. The tour leaders yelled: "We are ... " and, of course, everyone in hearing distance replied: "Penn State."

To the parents on the tour, this sense of community must have been comforting. They must have thought: "In a school as large as Penn State, it's so nice to hear an affirmative sense of belonging to a group."

I'll agree that this idea of community is nice, because at a school this large, it's easy to feel lost. Unfortunately, at Penn State, it's just an idea and nothing more.

I remember when I came for my tour of Penn State before deciding whether to attend here. To someone who had been to only a few college campuses, Penn State looked exactly how I imagined college was going to be.

It seemed as if everyone acknowledged the fact that they were classmates and, in a sense, bound together by one statement: "We are Penn State." It was then that I decided to come here, but it wasn't until I got here that I realized how entirely wrong my impression was.

Are we really Penn State or do we, well, not really care what we are?

I fear it's the latter. There is evidence of our anti-social, almost rude behavior all over campus.

When I was a freshman living in East Halls, almost no one held the door for the elevator. If you did manage to get on the elevator, everyone stared at the ceiling without even a greeting. It was my first introduction to the isolationist attitude that exists here, but it wasn't the last.

What about time spent walking to class? Do you keep your head down and look at the ground? I understand it's often freezing and keeping your head down keeps out the wind, but it might be nice if we all started to smile at each other. We should lift up our heads and look at the people we go to school with. Plus, feet just aren't that interesting to look at.

That brings me to the Loop; those buses are a hotbed for inconsideration. When I wait for the bus near my apartment, everyone waits in silence and when the bus finally arrives, everyone pushes right up to the door so that no one can get off. What's the rush?

Once we arrive at East, the bus is so full that I can hear someone's entire cell phone conversation with their mother about their laundry, no one moves to the back to make extra room.

It's almost as if we are all living on our own little island. While that fantasy is nice, it's just not possible because people need to get to class. But, can't we just be a little nicer about the whole process? I bet it would make the crowded conditions seem a bit more tolerable.

This list could go on and on. It's obvious that a culture of anti-social behavior does exist at Penn State the majority of the time.

Let me throw in one last ingredient: alcohol. Yes, we've all heard the statement that State College is a drinking town with a football problem, but to what extent does alcohol alter the state of non-community at Penn State?

A lot. Venturing out on the weekend will give you thousands of examples of people being rude, but it will also give you plenty of opportunities to talk to people you would have never otherwise spoken to on the bus or at the HUB-Robeson Center.

We've all been to a party where someone you barely know but recognize from class starts up an entire conversation about his or her cousin's boyfriend's sister's baby. The only reason this conversation occurs is because of alcohol. So, basically, all we need to solve the rudeness problem is some alcohol? We'll be a drinking town with a friendliness problem.

You might be thinking that yes, alcohol is a great solution -- but it's not. Imagine parents on a campus tour finding out that community at Penn State only exists in our bumper stickers, sweatshirts and alcohol.

If we are truly a community, it should be evident at all times, but especially at sober times. It's important that we recognize the community that forms by going to school together, but sometimes just acknowledging that "We are Penn State" isn't enough. Sometimes we've got to realize that we are individuals and maybe all we need is some conversation: "You are Penn State. What's your name?"