Ava Lazazzera ‘26

“Sarah Lawrencing”. It’s a verb unintelligible to those not in the know, but it has been coined to give a name to a quintessential social experience for any Gryphon: being ignored by someone you know as you pass them traversing campus. A quick scroll through Fizz, the anonymous Sarah Lawrence College-centric (SLC) social media platform, and you will discover countless anonymous students posting about being Sarah Lawrenced by fellow students, professors and even college President Crystle Collins Judd herself. Nobody would describe it as a pleasant experience (who wants to be ignored by someone they thought they were on good terms with?), but that doesn’t stop it from being an unavoidable aspect of the Sarah Lawrence social landscape.

Everyone has a story or two about being Sarah Lawrenced, but where is the perspective of the people doing the Sarah Lawrencing? Enter: me. This year, my motto has been “Girl, get over yourself!” in an attempt to deconstruct the remnants of teenage solipsism that I find myself carrying into my twenties. This self-centered mindset does not stem from vanity or a sense of self importance at the expense of others, but instead from a place of “everybody uniquely doesn’t like me.” I require the same amount of reassurance as a trembling chihuahua faced with an unfamiliar noise, and it is something I am trying to work on.

When I am walking around campus and I see an acquaintance—maybe someone I recognize from class or someone I met briefly through a friend of a friend—my irrational inner monologue tells me, They won’t remember who you are/they don’t like you/if you smile it will be awkward—etcetera. So I’ll keep my head down, look at my phone and keep walking. I definitely have Sarah Lawrenced people—not because I don’t like them, but because my own anxiety got in the way. It’s not an intentional signal of my apathy, but it sure looks like one!

The realization that I was accidentally participating in Sarah Lawrencing culture made me think: how many instances of being Sarah Lawrenced are the result of people like me, too worried about creating an awkward situation for themselves to simply smile? For every case of purposefully Sarah Lawrencing an ex-situationship or a roommate with whom things ended badly, there is likely a case where it’s happening unintentionally.

Following this epiphany, I now purposely try to avoid Sarah Lawrencing people. What is really the worst thing that can happen if I smile or wave to someone? I smile and wave to a stranger? I don’t get a smile back? It’s a little awkward? Girl, get over yourself!

Let’s face it. This campus has quite the reputation for being pretentious. Everyone has impeccable fashion taste, they are listening to bands you have never heard of, they’re so cool. How could I possibly measure up? I am willing to bet that many of you reading this feel similarly insecure. Even if people are simply Sarah Lawrencing people due to our own anxieties, all it does is reinforce the unapproachable aura of SLC at large.

There is a part of me that is hesitant to call attention to this: maybe everyone really is as cool and detached as they seem. Sincerity is vulnerability. God knows I love a little ironic humor as much as the next person, but the last thing Sarah Lawrence needs is yet another coat of irony. Next time you see one of your vague acquaintances, I encourage you to make the effort to smile. Maybe, we could knock SLC’s level of pretentiousness down a couple notches.

“Sarah Lawrencing”: Are You Part of the Problem?