As the proverbial saying goes, “When one door closes, another one opens.” This saying especially holds true for Villanovans, as holding the door is a practice Villanova students partake in quite frequently.
Holding the door is widely accepted as a social norm that gives an opportunity for people to display their politeness. It’s a common practice around the world. However, it appears to be much more prevalent at Villanova University. It’s a tangible, yet simple, way for students to display Villanova’s core values of Caritas, Unitas and Veritas on a daily basis.
When speaking about how to enact kindness into the world, many begin to think of large-scale projects, like curing cancer or putting an end to world hunger. The beauty of kindness, though, is that it can truly be found in the day to day, easy acts of life, in ways such as holding the door for others.
Students at Villanova will go to great lengths to prevent the door from slamming in the face of the individual following them. Even though it may feel like forever between someone opening the door and the next person walking through, the act of being thought of is appreciated nonetheless. While some say Villanovans take this act too far and create awkward and unnecessary social interactions that could have been avoided if people were to just keep walking without looking back, this small act truly does have the power to make someone else’s day. To some extent, it can crush people’s fears of their invisibility by making them feel seen and considered by another.
“I think the door holding gesture at Villanova reflects the community values and respect found within the student body,” freshman Michael Galbato said. “I don’t remember the last time I actually opened a door for myself.”
While door holding etiquette at Villanova underscores assumed kindness toward one another, it prompts the question as to whether or not students would extend such gestures privately. While passing the door to the person behind requires minimal effort, holding it for close to 10 seconds all while making intense eye contact with the person trailing can test one’s patience. Yet, I see this exact scenario play out daily all over campus. While it can be argued that, yes, students are doing this just to be nice, some may also say it is because it is a public act of kindness. Often, it is not only the person one is holding the door for who recognizes this courtesy, but also the surrounding people can take notice. While it’s indisputable that the act of holding the door open for the person behind you is a thoughtful one, this does not negate the fact that when no one is looking, Villanovans (and people in general) do not always display these same thoughtful characteristics.
Holding the door for others serves as a beacon of who Villanova students are. When describing the kindness of Villanova’s student body to prospective families, people almost always bring up how, even if the person is 10 feet behind you, Villanovans will always keep the door open. However, the true test of what it means to be a Villanovan is what happens when the acts are not as public. Taking the same patience and grace into the private acts of day-to-day life is just as essential as exemplifying them in public. Whether that be resisting the urge to dump someone’s clean laundry on the ground or not cutting others in line when you think no one else is looking, being a decent person in private is just as easy as holding the door in public. While temptation does exist and is more prevalent in the private decisions we make, you should be able to harness the energy you have while holding the door for the person ten feet behind you in order to not be viewed as “rude.” Villanova students should strive to carry this door holding etiquette our community so proudly boasts about into our day to day lives to truly live the values of Caritas, Unitas and Veritas.
