Day Four, Sam's Entry

OSU yesterday wasn't the best. In fact, it was probably the worst. We didn't tape anything because there wasn't much worth recording. We set up in front of the fitness center, which we figured would be a good spot because it was a pretty busy bus stop. Potential askers would literally be dropped off at our feet. The only thing that was wrong with this plan was the fact that apparently most OSU students are GIANT JERKS.

For the first hour, no one approached us. But let's be clear: we were quite visible. What would happen is, students passing by would notice our table, read the sign, and keep walking while making every effort possible to avoid contact with the two of us. At one point someone raised their eyebrows, but that was about it.

After about an hour of just sitting there, we were approached by a woman. She was in her early 30's and in the military, and was going to college on the GI bill. Which is to say, not your typical OSU student, which is probably why she came up to talk to us. She talked about how she regretted wasting twenty years of her life, and how now she's trying to fit in two degrees in the 36 months before her battalion deploys.

After Denise, there was a middle aged woman who asked about why bullies do what they do. But then we were approached by a black kid who looked to be a freshman in college who asked us what we were doing. When we told him we went to Academy, he said he went to St. Charles, and when we explained the goal of our project, he stepped to the side and started to think.

Then he said something that pretty much explained it perfectly. He said that OSU is basically an urban environment: roughly 50,000 people packed into a square mile or two. That sort of environment is very impersonal, which means people will be less likely to take time out to engage in something unconventional like what we were doing. This also explains why when we set up in Bexley near Capital we got so many people.

So, not the best day yesterday. But Denise told us we probably should try this on the Oval with a big cooler of free water, so that's what we're going to do. With any luck, we'll get more than five people today.