It is no secret CMU prides itself on the “friendly demeanor” it presents, but how far does the notion of “Take Care” really go? Do students actually look out for one another?

According to information posted on cmich.edu, CMU's Take Care program was created in 2004 to discourage a bystander mentality. The program encourages others “to be aware of what is going on around them, to notice potentially serious situations, and to respond appropriately to influence a better outcome.”

Throughout the first week of classes, friendships are made, numbers are exchanged and the whole campus is in a state of social bliss. After Welcome Weekend however, groups quickly form on campus and dorm room doors begin to close.

The notion of “taking care” can be lost within a sea of names and numbers, all of which will be overlooked until the beginning of the next school year.

To get deeper into the helpful behavior of students on campus, I designed a series of experiments to test student interaction. After obtaining a map of CMU, I divided off highly populated zones of campus throughout the school day. Each zone was numbered, and three were randomly selected to conduct each experiment.

Experiment one brought me to Real Food on Campus, a cafeteria located inside the Towers Residence Halls. I was curious to find out how open students were to the idea of meeting new people during meal times. The answer? Not very.

As I took a seat at the cafeteria table, it was clear no one had any intention of joining me. While looking around at the RFOC’s breakfast crowd, I was not the only one sitting alone.

“I don’t think eating by myself is weird,” said Genesee freshman Devin Sapp. “Actually, I kind of have grown to like eating alone.”

Sapp said eating by himself is rare, because he is usually accompanied by his brother, Cody, but he said he would not feel comfortable trying to eat with someone new.

“I am not comfortable going up to someone in the cafeteria,” Sapp said. “Unless I know them, I would never go out of my way to meet someone new.”

Litchfield freshman Scott Steele said he is a solo diner as well.

“I sit alone, by myself, all the time,” he said. “You don’t know why people are sitting alone. They could have studying to do. They could be in a rush, or maybe they just want to be left alone.”

While some students prefer to eat alone, others have simply accepted it as the status quo.

“I am not a fan of eating in the cafeteria by myself,” said Grand Ledge Lacey Starr. “I just feel that when you are eating alone in the (cafeteria), it is quite lonely. People stare at you if you are alone, and I just don’t find that (to be) a fun experience.”

When I stepped into the sunlight, things went from bad to worse. My second experiment took place near Anspach Hall. This time, I tripped, spilling hot coffee on myself and a 25-page term paper. Similar to the situation in the cafeteria, students walked past me as I crouched on the ground, trying to collect the soaking pages.

No one asked if I needed help, nor did they initiate any kind of social interaction. Interestingly enough, each student who walked by turned back to look at me struggling, yet none of them were willing to come to my aid, and instead, several even laughed as they walked by.

For my third experiment, I decided to trip in front of a group of students outside the Charles V. Park Library, spilling my books and other materials, to see if they would help me.

Somewhat surprisingly, considering the way things went during the first two attempts, all four times I dropped my books, someone new went out of their way to help me.

Two seniors, Jessica Reilly, from Midland, and Kawkawlin native Claudia Marsh, immediately lent a helping hand.

“I have been this person before,” Reilly said. “I would always go out of my way to help someone if they needed it, because I would want someone to help me.”

Marsh agreed and said the notion of helping others had been engrained in her as a child.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” she said. “I would expect someone to help me, and I would hope that I could trust people here to reach out if need be.”

The way students reacted to the final social experiment is exactly why CMU prides itself on its friendliness. However, there have been times where students have fallen short in looking out for one another.

On March 30, Central Michigan Life published a letter to the editor entitled “Helping your fellow human.” In the letter, 2010 graduate Melissa Buckelew described a horrifying scene: a student fell in the intersection between the Charles V. Park Library and Bovee University Center. The student hit her head on the cement, rolling over in pain.

“No one stopped to help during that time,” Buckelew said in the letter. “Multiple people walked past this girl and pointed. But no one stopped to help her, not even to ask if she was OK. Instead, they all walked past.”

While many could agree Central Michigan University is not a perfect a school, Take Care has been created to eliminate some of the problems that happen on campus, but without active, concerned students, the strive for a friendlier campus falls short.

“Take Care is basically a way to look out for yourself and others while on campus,” said Saxe Residence Hall Director Benjamin Witt. “The message should be taken as a philosophy more than a policy, and it is as simple as it sounds.”

Witt said subliminal marketing is used all over campus to stress the importance of Take Care.

“At concerts, we make sure to place Take Care banners in very obvious places, such as on the stage,” Witt said. “In turn, we hope that when students see this advertising, they will remember to help others who have maybe have had too much to drink or who are in any kind of danger by either reporting what they see or taking charge of the situation and abandoning the bystander mentality.”

Interim Dean of Student Life Tony Voisin said the main purpose of Take Care is to increase student awareness of one another.

“This is a top-100 university with 20,000 students walking around campus every day,” he said. "The difference between our campus and others is that we are a large university plugged into a small town. Because of this, residents of Mount Pleasant, teachers on campus and the student body stay pretty connected. I guess in this way, Take Care fits in pretty well.”

Voisin said it is students' duty to care for not only themselves but for surroundings and peers as well.

“Take Care should push students to create a more caring network on campus,” Voisin said. “It is really nothing more than the Golden Rule: ‘Treat others how you would like to be treated.’ It’s as simple as that.”