Hi, how may I help you?

Published 08/29/2016

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Imagine a drunken man lying on the street. He is wearing raggedy clothes and looks like he is in pain. Would you help him?

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Most people would say yes; however, research shows that, when placed in the situation, people follow the actions of others. This past week in my Peer Counseling Theory and Skills class we watched a video of this social experiment. On a busy British street corner, an actor dressed in tattered clothes pretended to be a drunken man in need of help. He moaned and groaned, yet dozens of people passed by him without casting a second glance. Conversely, when the same actor was dressed in business clothes, several people stopped to help him almost immediately. A police officer soon showed up and the actor was taken away, presumably to a hospital.

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After watching the video, my whole class was in shock. It seemed cruel to leave the ragged man writhing in misery while giving the businessman the help he needed. Why did this happen? The several people who helped the businessman felt more compelled to do so when they saw others helping him, but what influenced the first person to help him?

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Without even thinking about it, the first person had selfish intentions. While the ragged man seemed more likely to be scamming, the businessman seemed like the safer person to help. Overall, the dozens of people on the street corner preferred to keep themselves away from possible danger and to conform to society’s norms than at least call 911 for the ragged man. They only wanted to help when it was convenient for them.

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Though we may not want to admit it, we as students can have selfish intentions when helping others as well. Small actions such as holding the door for someone or letting someone get off the bus before you are common courtesies and do not require much effort; however, the many community and public service organizations U.Va. has to offer require members to sacrifice their time and energy for a specific cause. These students could be using this time and energy to do their homework or hang out with friends, yet they decide to use it for service. Why?

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While there are students who get involved in service groups because they are passionate about a particular cause, there are many who have other intentions. Some will join an organization simply because it looks good on a resume. Others will get involved in an abundance of groups in hope of receiving a scholarship or an award. Some students may use service organizations as a way of networking. They know certain people in an organization may have internship or job connections, be able to write letters of recommendation for them or help them professionally in some other way in the future.

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Though these other intentions are certainly not bad, they should not be our sole reason for serving. We cannot fully serve others if we are looking to serve ourselves as well. Therefore, as first-years decide which service organizations they would like to get involved in and as upperclassmen resume the service positions they have already taken on and possibly add on new ones, I urge every student to do something this semester purely out of altruism without any intent of benefit or recognition. Though I enjoy doing community service, I know this is more easily said than done. I too have been able to receive scholarships and recognition for the amount of service activities listed on my resume.

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Nevertheless, I plan to be more selfless this semester by volunteering with an organization purely out of my passion for dance, not just to build up my resume. However, altruism can be done in much smaller ways. Whether it is donating to a clothing drive or buying a meal for a homeless person on the Corner, each altruistic deed helps us become less concentrated on ourselves and more conscious of the world around us.

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