Are Freshmen Really That Annoying?

There’s always a lot of annoyance directed toward freshmen, but ick-filled rhetoric permeates campus more in the first few weeks of school than at any other time. I’ve overheard quite a few freshmen-related rants just this past week. I don’t get it. Honestly, all the hate seems needless, like people need a scapegoat for their campus woes. I’ve been annoyed by just as many grown adults on this campus as I have by 18 to 20 year olds. 

At 23, I’m still annoyed by myself just as often as I was at 18. There’s a reason why there’s so many television shows, movies and books centered around how insufferable, wide-eyed and confused twenty-somethings are. Take “Girls,” “Insecure,” “500 Days of Summer” or “Normal People,” for example. Your frontal lobe doesn’t even fully develop until you’re around 25, according to the National Library of Medicine. At this age, what makes anyone think they’re qualified to decide who is and isn’t naive and annoying? Frankly, I’m pretty certain that graduate students and professors are as annoyed by all undergraduates as we are by freshmen.

In an effort to understand where all the hate is coming from, I asked 50 students if freshmen are really that annoying. The overwhelming majority felt strongly that they are. In fact, only 12 people said no. Six people who responded to the poll actually were freshmen, who still agreed that freshmen are annoying. 

Some who agreed with me said we ought to cut freshmen some slack. 

“We were all freshmen. We were all annoying,” psychology major Tatiana Means said.

“I like people-watching them,” said recent grad Ellie Hensel.

“They’re pretty chill most of the time,” said Lukas Kosel, a writing and history dual-major.

However, since a whopping 38 out of 50 people are irritated by freshmen, there has to be some truth to the claims. Some folks I interviewed gave pretty compelling points. Were they compelling enough to make me change my mind? No. But I have to admit that there are a few good reasons to be irked by 18-ish year olds. 

A lot of development happens in the prefrontal cortex between 18 and 25. Since teenagers’ frontal lobe are rapidly developing, they’re more likely to take risks, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Some of those risks cause property damage and extreme annoyance. “They broke a sprinkler in Roskie while I was working there. Six figures worth of damage,” Asian studies major Roger Devries said. 

“They stand in the middle of a path and talk to each other,” said Brandon Milos, who studies mathematics. Ironically, we were standing in the middle of a path outside Hamilton Hall as he said this.

“Some of them really annoy me when I’m a T.A.,” said paleontology student Elizabeth Duncan.

“They don’t know how to handle their beer,” said civil engineering student Maddy Gallagher.

“They really don’t know how to drive in the snow,” said political science major Lily Beck.

If freshmen are even annoyed by themselves, then it must be true: “I’m in North Hedges – the situation can be bad sometimes. I’m a freshman saying freshmen are annoying,” paleontology major Christian Randall said.

At the end of the day, though, we’re all annoying. There’s no reason to use slightly-less mature students as a scapegoat for your frustrations. They just got here. College is a stress-inducing, confusing environment. Almost none of us know what we’re doing in life and we all act in strange, frustrating and naive ways everyday. The next time you feel like hating on a freshman, take a deep breath and ask yourself why you feel the need to complain in the first place. Are they really making the campus that bad, or are you just having a bad day and need to complain about something?  

“This is the last year they get to be annoying. Let them enjoy it. Their childlike wonder is about to end,” said fish and wildlife management major Quealey Carpenter.