A lot of life is about identity.

A pretty simple statement, one that has probably graced these same pages in years past, surely. But, honestly, it couldn’t be more true. What your identity is, as a person, has a direct influence on what happens to you in life.

With that thought in mind, what exactly is UK’s identity? People joke about it being a basketball school, but shouldn’t the team that has the most championships athletically identify you? So, people see UK as a cheerleading school? Really?

I’m not sure I stand for that. Just kidding, macho cheerleader.

Or do the interesting, cultural Lexington surroundings help define UK? There is WRFL, a beacon for anything that isn’t mainstream. Tolly-Ho — forever a UK food staple — would definitely never be considered mainstream. Not that they would complain about that. The list of interesting, quirky and fun places around campus is endless — CD Central, Prince’s Hookah Lounge, etc.

How about the “World-Famous” Two Keys Tavern? Kennedy bookstore, Joe Bologna’s or Pazzo’s? Obviously whatever you wanted to say identified UK, does.

There in lies the problem. You see, on weekends when either the football or basketball team plays an away game — or just on cold weekends in Lexington — this campus is deserted. Sure, people get along just fine here on campus, in their own collective cliques and groups. Put the pen down, Greek leaders, this isn’t about you (nor are most things, mind you).

But the problem remains. If the collective group a student belongs to, whether it be a Greek organization, the Kernel, or something else, isn’t doing something, the first instinct a student has is simple — time to go home. Why?

This isn’t something that just freshmen do, although the feeling of going home is definitely prevalent in younger classes. Seniors and juniors can be blamed for the same. No Greek mixer? No house party? No basketball game? No way in hell I’m staying on this campus. As John McCain would say, “my friends, that’s just silly.”

During my time as a sports reporter for the Kernel, I’ve been lucky enough to see the campuses of many of UK’s Southeastern Conference rivals. Schools like Alabama, Tennessee and Florida have huge, centralized campuses and all the bars and nightlife are directly next to campus. All of them are in a row, making access to each very simple and easy. Even for the non-drinking crowd, various forms of entertainment are available. But the main thing that sets these campuses apart?

I always saw a huge amount of students. Whether it was hot (Gainesville, Fla.), cold (Knoxville, Tenn.) or wet (Knoxville, again), there was never a patch of campus that wasn’t being traveled by students. And that just doesn’t happen here at UK.

If it’s cold, students hide. If there are no athletic events, they go home. If it’s sunny, well, they go to Keeneland. But if class isn’t in session, you won’t see anyone on Central campus.

I never found UK’s identity when I tried to locate it. Maybe UK doesn’t have one single identity and maybe that’s what makes it so special. But UK’s counterparts, especially in the SEC, have a unity that is tough to see here at UK. And it’s going to take more than a campaign to “See Blue.”

It’s going to take seeing people around. Period.