Monday, October 06, 2003
I am living the sporting life, waking up at 6:40 AM four mornings a week. Given the fact that I only have a maximum of two classes (or approximately four hours) a day, it's not so bad. I also enjoy the 3.2 miles I walk to and from school every day.
One thing I find particularly charming in a summer camp sort of way is the school shirt (sweat, tee or what have you). People actually buy them and wear them with pride! To me, who have always strived to create and express as few affiliations as possible (for I am the cat that walks by himself and all places are alike to me!), it seems amusing.
In many respects, though, school loyalty is absolutely normal: American universities go out of their way to make their students feel like they are part of a community. They strive to concentrate everything a student is likely to need within a few blocks. They do their best to get people involved in all sorts of activities, from sports to soup kitchens (OK, so maybe the latter is just a Jesuit school thing). Campuses are little borroughs (which is, um, historically speaking, they way they started out; in continental Europe, however, larger neighborhoods and later towns and cities grew around and swallowed the original campus). People wear sweats to class and often look like they've just got out of bed (which is, in most cases, not far from the truth). If you happen to live on campus, the community spirit is that much greater. If you don't live on campus, the school will try to make you feel as if you do, at least for a portion of the day -- SU has so-called collegia for commuter students, with lounges, showers and kitchens. (I still find it funny that, technically, I am a "commuter" student, just like my classmates living in Kent or Issaquah, who have to beat the traffic every morning. And I walk to school!) Which is great!
Anyway, as I was saying, students have every reason to be proud of their schools. School loyalty shirts are cheesy, but effective means of expressing that pride. There.
Another good thing about being in a Jesuit school is that the "climate" is really "moral", as the university likes to put it. The campus is pretty calm and safe, people will hold doors open for you and if you leave your belongings somewhere, someone will pick them up and turn them in to somebody who is likely to know how to track you down and return them to you. The Stranger claims that there are flashers hidden in the campus bushes, but I have yet to encounter one.
One thing I find particularly charming in a summer camp sort of way is the school shirt (sweat, tee or what have you). People actually buy them and wear them with pride! To me, who have always strived to create and express as few affiliations as possible (for I am the cat that walks by himself and all places are alike to me!), it seems amusing.
In many respects, though, school loyalty is absolutely normal: American universities go out of their way to make their students feel like they are part of a community. They strive to concentrate everything a student is likely to need within a few blocks. They do their best to get people involved in all sorts of activities, from sports to soup kitchens (OK, so maybe the latter is just a Jesuit school thing). Campuses are little borroughs (which is, um, historically speaking, they way they started out; in continental Europe, however, larger neighborhoods and later towns and cities grew around and swallowed the original campus). People wear sweats to class and often look like they've just got out of bed (which is, in most cases, not far from the truth). If you happen to live on campus, the community spirit is that much greater. If you don't live on campus, the school will try to make you feel as if you do, at least for a portion of the day -- SU has so-called collegia for commuter students, with lounges, showers and kitchens. (I still find it funny that, technically, I am a "commuter" student, just like my classmates living in Kent or Issaquah, who have to beat the traffic every morning. And I walk to school!) Which is great!
Anyway, as I was saying, students have every reason to be proud of their schools. School loyalty shirts are cheesy, but effective means of expressing that pride. There.
Another good thing about being in a Jesuit school is that the "climate" is really "moral", as the university likes to put it. The campus is pretty calm and safe, people will hold doors open for you and if you leave your belongings somewhere, someone will pick them up and turn them in to somebody who is likely to know how to track you down and return them to you. The Stranger claims that there are flashers hidden in the campus bushes, but I have yet to encounter one.
