2008 Woodie Awards
It's not Easy Being a Slacker
David Garrison
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Culture
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Olivia Bracuher, a biology student at Humboldt State University, used to be a truck driver. For two years, she crisscrossed the United States in a big rig. She's driven through almost every state and witnessed the dynamics of this country firsthand.
She has met people who are always on the go. They work. They go to school. They never slow down.
She has also met people who don't do much. They lounge about. They refuse to work. They go against the flow. She said that some people might label this social group as slackers, but not her. Braucher steers clear of labels.
She said that she feels pressured to always be productive. It's a pressure that she thinks is shared by many people. She said that it's hard to push against that pressure. If she hangs out on the couch for an hour and a half, she feels bad. There's other stuff that needs to be done. Schoolwork. Bills. Dinner. The list never ends.
She thinks it's fine if people can push against that pressure and be okay with it.
"Who cares?" she said. "That's what they want to do."
David Campbell, a psychology professor at Humboldt State, didn't want to label people as slackers either. The term is too loose. Instead, he called them social loafers.
He said that the slacker label is often applied to people who perform lower than expected. A person who doesn't do his part in a group project can be labeled a slacker. So can people who don't do their part to contribute to society. People who don't live up to their own expectations label themselves as slackers too.
He said that at Humboldt State, there are many students who don't do more than they have to. There are other things they would rather do. When they get home, they don't flip open their laptop to do their schoolwork. They turn on the TV instead. He said that in the end, they have to do the work. If they don't, it's unhealthy.
Campbell said that a student who walks into class unprepared feels stressed. They can't contribute to group discussions and feel un-empowered.
Another element of slacking off, he said, is people who procrastinate. If students put things off until the last minute, they get stressed out when they have to deal with the piled up workload.
"If you do that," he said. "You don't have much fun."
Carmen King, a senior in economics at Humboldt State, is almost a straight "A" student. She received a B-plus once because she decided not to take the optional final for the class. She didn't take it because she thought she had an A. She admits that she slacked off and when she received the grade, she cried. Had she known that a B-plus loomed in her future, she would've taken the optional final.
King sets high standards for herself. She reaches her goals, but it isn't easy because she procrastinates. She said that her stress level is at 200 percent and she could lower it. Each night she takes an hour that could be used to do school work to sit on the couch and watch reality TV shows.
"There's better stuff I can do with that time," she said.
For Braucher, if people take a little time to unwind it's a good thing. It doesn't mean they are a slacker.
"I slack at some things," she said. "But I'm not slacker."
David Garrison can be reached at dlg32@humboldt.edu
She has met people who are always on the go. They work. They go to school. They never slow down.
She has also met people who don't do much. They lounge about. They refuse to work. They go against the flow. She said that some people might label this social group as slackers, but not her. Braucher steers clear of labels.
She said that she feels pressured to always be productive. It's a pressure that she thinks is shared by many people. She said that it's hard to push against that pressure. If she hangs out on the couch for an hour and a half, she feels bad. There's other stuff that needs to be done. Schoolwork. Bills. Dinner. The list never ends.
She thinks it's fine if people can push against that pressure and be okay with it.
"Who cares?" she said. "That's what they want to do."
David Campbell, a psychology professor at Humboldt State, didn't want to label people as slackers either. The term is too loose. Instead, he called them social loafers.
He said that the slacker label is often applied to people who perform lower than expected. A person who doesn't do his part in a group project can be labeled a slacker. So can people who don't do their part to contribute to society. People who don't live up to their own expectations label themselves as slackers too.
He said that at Humboldt State, there are many students who don't do more than they have to. There are other things they would rather do. When they get home, they don't flip open their laptop to do their schoolwork. They turn on the TV instead. He said that in the end, they have to do the work. If they don't, it's unhealthy.
Campbell said that a student who walks into class unprepared feels stressed. They can't contribute to group discussions and feel un-empowered.
Another element of slacking off, he said, is people who procrastinate. If students put things off until the last minute, they get stressed out when they have to deal with the piled up workload.
"If you do that," he said. "You don't have much fun."
Carmen King, a senior in economics at Humboldt State, is almost a straight "A" student. She received a B-plus once because she decided not to take the optional final for the class. She didn't take it because she thought she had an A. She admits that she slacked off and when she received the grade, she cried. Had she known that a B-plus loomed in her future, she would've taken the optional final.
King sets high standards for herself. She reaches her goals, but it isn't easy because she procrastinates. She said that her stress level is at 200 percent and she could lower it. Each night she takes an hour that could be used to do school work to sit on the couch and watch reality TV shows.
"There's better stuff I can do with that time," she said.
For Braucher, if people take a little time to unwind it's a good thing. It doesn't mean they are a slacker.
"I slack at some things," she said. "But I'm not slacker."
David Garrison can be reached at dlg32@humboldt.edu
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