By Tara Kelly
Staff Writer

I love to cuss. I think I swear in every other sentence. As the Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan says, the F-word is the “chisel” to the “brick wall” that separates me from everyone else.

But I know that not everyone loves to hear swear words. Students in their late teens and early twenties may be the dominant demographic on a college campus, but there are others – teachers, staff, visiting parents – people who probably don’t enjoy hearing how “f*&%ing retarded people are.”

I was in the Dining Commons when I heard the F-word being thrown into a conversation like a nasty curveball. Only one table over was an elderly couple. I kept looking at them to see if they would flinch anytime the guy swore so loudly, but nothing happened.

If I was twice as confident in my confrontation skills, I would have approached the guy and said, “Dude, there’s an elderly couple right next to you. Could you not swear so much, or keep your voice down?”

In a less crowded area (the Cyber Café at 3 p.m.), another person was complaining about a difficult professor, and he cussed like he’d just come from the docks while a woman sat three feet away from him. Her eyes flicked upward in irritation, but like me, she did not say anything.

I don’t like telling people how to express themselves. Sometimes swearing is a great way to release some irritation, but not at the cost of someone else’s comfort. Just be considerate of others.

This may be a college campus, where free speech runs rampant, but it’s not a bar at the corner of Trash and Vulgar. Even as I’m writing this, I’m thinking about all the people I’ve cussed in front of (sorry professors and co-workers. Oh, and I’m really sorry Mom and Dad).

Sometimes I just think that cussing is f*&^ing inappropriate.