Intelligent. Ambitious. Motivated. These are words typically used to describe the students that comprise our esteemed university--the kind of words that go along with pictures of smiling, racially diverse young men and women playing frisbee in front of the Chapel.
And while Duke students do tend to be intelligent, ambitious and motivated, I have found that three different adjectives are used much more commonly when we describe one another:
Awkward, random and above all, sketchy.
Hardly a single conversation can go by without one of these buzzwords making an appearance at least once:
"So yeah, it turns out that girl I hooked up with is my Econ TA. How awkward is that gonna be?"
"A glowing, plastic, naked statue in the middle of the Plaza? Random!"
"Would it be sketchy if I brought my flask to class on Friday to get a head start?"
Just the other day I was talking to my parents on the phone and they asked me how my weekend was. I decided to regale them with a rather humorous tale of a sketchy guy who followed me and my friends around all night at a party.
My dad interrupted me in the middle of my story to ask, "Stacy, what does this word 'sketchy' mean?"
English major that I am, I found myself at a loss for words. Considering the fact that my friends and I probably use the word about 40,000 times a day, I really had no idea how to define it. It is an elusive term, conjuring images of dark alleys, guys with their hoods pulled over their heads and shifty eyes.
It comes in a wide variety of phrases and parts of speech: to "sketch someone out," to do something "sketchily," or to be a "sketch," "sketchball," "sketchbucket" or "Sketchy McSketchster." OK, maybe I made that last one up, but you get the point.
What does sketchy really mean? And what does it say about our student body that we use this phrase so often?
I decided that perhaps the best way to explore this colloquial phenomenon would be to describe some of the different strains of sketchiness that are prevalent on campus:
- Booty Call Guy
Booty Call Guy is a classic example of your typical sketchball. His entire interaction with people consists of drunk dials, incoherent text messages at three in the morning and requests to "come over and watch a movie ;)" This Casanova of the night makes no attempts to hide his motivation; there is no subtlety here.
- Facebook Sketch
Granted, all of us have had our Facebook Sketch moments, but some people are real pros. Have you ever said "hi" to someone on the quad only to realize that you don't actually know them, you've just seen them in your friends' Facebook pictures? Have you ever "accidentally" mentioned a movie in conversation because you know that the girl you are hitting on has it listed as one of her favorites? Have you ever gotten someone's cell number off of Facebook../ or their home address? If so, you may be a Facebook Sketch.
- Substance Abuse Sketchball
Substance Abuse Sketchball, while not the kind of person you would bring home to mom and dad, usually has a heart of gold hiding underneath a shady crust. Considering the fact that they spend a good half of their day involved in illegal activities, these folks are usually generous, dependable and willing to engage in philosophical discourse into the wee hours of the morning. So what if they have a "special" drawer full of paraphernalia and other tools of sketchdom? They are always willing to share what they have and are generally peaceful creatures.
Guys Who Operate the Bull at Shooters
Old Guy Who Shows Up at Parties Sketch
We've all seen him before. The guy who leans against the bar at George's in a desperately casual manner, like a leopard lying in wait to leap upon his underage prey. With his hip new baseball cap, he thinks he can hide the fact that his hair is thinning. With his open bar tab, he thinks he can compensate for the fact that he is actually 35. Easiest to spot and toughest to shake off, this is one sketchball to be avoided. Sorry, Old Guy. But thanks for the drinks.
I hope that this linguistic exploration has been useful. We all ought to have a better understanding of a word we use so often in our daily lives. And, if you happen to notice that people start avoiding you after reading this column, you may unfortunately be a Sketchy McSketchster yourself..
Stacy Chudwin is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Friday. This is her final column.
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