Each week, College Lifestyles will honor a co-ed or gentleman who exemplifies class and confidence. This week’s classy gentleman is David Hamilton from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Name: David Hamilton
School: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Major: Double majored in political science and psychology with a business minor.
Pets: 5 dogs and 500 pigs if you count farm animals
How is David a Classy Gentleman?
Stated by nominee Samantha Shafer, ‘The reason why I picked David is because he is an all around good guy, very responsible, and polite. He served as president and vice president of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and won President of the Year at SIUE. He was the first person I thought of and when I told him I nominated him, he gave me this response. It will show us all the true gentlemen he is!’
David’s response:
This question is a bit difficult for me to answer because part of my concept of what it means to be a gentleman is to always be modest and to avoid conversation about yourself. So with that said, I will try to describe what being a gentleman means and how I try to be a gentleman. To me being a gentleman is founded in balance and duty. One must feel an intense yearning to bring harmony to every situation, not merely subscribing to a list of do’s and do not’s. Being a true gentleman does not merely refer to a guy who makes sure to open doors for ladies or who always puts the toilet seat down. No, being a gentleman is a part of who a man is. A true gentleman walks into a room and immediately feels the atmosphere and knows just how to respond to make the room comfortable. A gentleman can feel tension in a room as soon as he enters and always knows just the right one-liner to ease the situation. A gentleman knows when someone is down and needs a word of encouragement. A gentleman senses when another’s joke goes too far and always knows just what to say to simultaneously keep the peace and defend the victim. Most important to being a gentleman is not only the ability to sense when a situation is out of whack but the courage and sense of mind to do something about the situation. Notice that a gentleman doesn’t just feel but he acts as well. What this means is that a true gentleman never acts without feeling, as this is manipulation, and it also means that a true gentleman always acts when he has a feeling, as not doing so is cowardice.
With this definition of what it means to be a gentleman, I hope that I don’t misconstrue myself. I don’t mean to say that I do these things all the time in every situation. This is not my reality but my ideal. The truth is no one is a perfect gentleman and equally so no one is completely bad. The idea of being a gentleman is more accurately described like this, with a continuum. The perfect gentleman on one side and the opposite on the other. Just like every other man, I sit somewhere in between. A bit closer to the perfect gentleman side I hope, but maybe more important than where I sit or where any man sits, is whether or not I am progressing toward my ideal state. What is most important to me is where a guy is going to be on the scale not where he is or where he has been.
Do you want to nominate someone for classy co-ed of the week? Send their name, university, a picture, and ‘why they are a classy co-ed’ to Shelly at info@collegelifestyles.org.
