Inside/Outside

One of my first memories of working at SF is of a happy hour. The first or second week I worked, a bunch of people who worked in the office were going out to happy hour and inviting everyone. The people "organizing" the happy hour were two people who, for some reason, seemed to think I had taken their job. I'm not sure of all the politics, but for whatever reason, they did not like me. So they proceeded to ask everyone around me if they were coming to happy hour, and not ask me.

Now, I don't think they plotted and said "We're going to ask everyone to come out but her right in front of her," but I do think it might have been sadistically fun for them to make sure I knew they were going out and that I wasn't invited.

A couple of people who work here in the office just did the same thing, I think with less malicious intent, but nonetheless, sort of "forgetting" that anyone else might be around and might appreciate an invite. Especially when one person is saying, "Oh, run after C (the boss) and ask her if she'd like to come."

I know, I'm doing a bit of whining, but it seems that a lot of my life I feel as if I'm on the outside. But this organizational situation at SF seems to encourage this kind of behavior. And other schools, too, seemed to have a need to have "insider" and "outsider" groups to define and organize themselves. I wonder if this is inherent in school politics, and how it affects the students. Because it must, and it can't be a good precedent for them.