The professor looks down at her class, pleading for participation. There may be one student whose hand shoots up — it always seems to — but the professor wants more. She asks for other students to engage, but they remain silent.

We’ve all been there, more often as part of the silent mass than as the eager sharer. I’m curious why we’re so reluctant to share. We often have comments that could contribute to discussion, or ideas to bounce off the professor. But we don’t open up, because we don’t want to be that person. The person who engages without inhibition, whose interest makes them vulnerable in an apathetic crowd. It’s safer for us to stay quiet, blend in and remain unconcerned.

It’s not surprising that our culture prizes apathy. Showing interest introduces vulnerability, which invites embarrassment. If someone works hard at something and fails, it is more painful than not working hard in the first place. So we hide.

The only exception to this rule of apathy is before a test, when studying is permissible to attain a higher GPA. Writer David Brooks points to “resume virtues” and “eulogy virtues” as two competing sets of attributes we all try to balance. Prestige is a resume virtue, love of learning a eulogy virtue. Brooks notes that when we’re asked, we say we care more about the eulogy virtues, that they capture who we are and what we should pursue. But the focus of our behavior seems averse to that pursuit, as though we are embarrassed to engage in the things we love.

We’ve all read about Jay Gatsby’s futile trust in “the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.” A part of us knows that prestige is an illusion. But we still envy the kid who gets straight As more than we do the kid who raises his hand, actually using her college experience to further her growth. The educational establishment itself has encouraged this by focusing on GPA, acceptance rates and U.S. News & World Report rankings, but maybe they can’t be blamed alone. The word “prestige” comes originally from the latin “praestigium,” which means illusion. Human culture has always been inclined toward chasing some facade of success, even as it recognizes the danger behind that inclination.

So each of us faces three options. First, we can bow to the apathy that society expects of us, keeping our heads down and our mouths shut. This promises acceptance, but eliminates growth, passion and individuality. Second, we can chase only the prestige, impressing others but leaving us without purpose. Or, third, we can step off the conveyer belt and engage with the subjects we care about for the only years of our lives when this engagement promises to be so fruitful. We can raise our hands.

Jake Gordon is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.