As I have wandered campus the past couple of weeks, trying to get my bearings and get settled in a school routine, I have come to appreciate this one grand truth: U of A ain't BYU.
I got my Bachelor's degree from BYU, and spent a blissful (or at least not totally traumatic) five years there (those of you not yet in university, try and figure out what you want to do BEFORE you finish your first year - it's easier that way). Attending a church-owned private school, that has an honor code, which includes dress and behavior rules, makes a huge difference in the atmosphere around campus - an atmosphere which I have only recently begun to appreciate, and miss. The (main) differences between the atmosphere U of A and BYU are as follows:
1. Smoking is allowed on campus at U of A. Not near doors, or indoors, and not near fresh air intakes, but anywhere else is fair game. At BYU, the smell of cigarette smoke is an anomaly, and causes those who smell it to cast their gaze wildly about in an attempt to find the perpetrator, and put a stop to the smoking. I am unused to heading to class and walking through multiple clouds of smoke. It's weird.
2. Coffee, coffee, everywhere, with nothing else to drink. Okay, so there are other drinks. BUT, there are also a lot of places to buy coffee, including multiple Starbucks around campus. And, if you can't get to the actual Starbucks, most of the little kiosk-y shops sell pre-made Starbucks, or other varieties. Everyone here drinks coffee, it feels like. If they're not waiting in line for coffee, they're sitting drinking it, or walking to class and drinking it. The smell is everywhere, often mixing with the cigarette smoke, so I often feel like I'm walking through a trendy poetry club or something.
3. "And he was like 'F--k you' and I said, 'No, go f--k yourself" and then he just f--king punched me, so I beat his a-- to the ground." Actual overheard portion of a conversation between two freshmen boys. At least, I assumed they were freshmen, as they definitely weren't shaving yet. Now, I taught middle school science, so it's not like swearing is new, but some of these U of A students are so prodigious with their swearing, my students would cry real tears of jealousy to hear the inventive ways in which they conjugate various words and phrases. At BYU, some students were afraid to read the words "damn", "hell", and "ass (referring to a donkey)" when asked to read scriptures aloud in religion classes. And nobody went around speaking in a dialect that requires a 1:3 ratio of swear words to non-swear words.
4. The noticeable lack of babies and young mothers. At BYU, it was not unusual to have either expectant or new mothers in class. I can't count on one hand the number of times I had a class with a new mom who brought her baby with her to class. And the professors had no problem with it, so long as mama kept baby quiet. I have yet to see any children on campus, at all.
5. No couches in the women's restrooms. I don't know if this is unique to BYU (possibly, what with all the young mommies), but couches in the women's restroom was the norm, and one I greatly appreciated when working a 12am-6am shift, with a 9am work meeting to follow. I have yet to locate a bathroom with a couch, and I despair of ever finding one. I miss the horribly ugly, but terribly comfy, brown couch in the restroom off the HFAC tunnel.
6. Toga parties are real. I had heard of them. I had seen them portrayed in movies, heard tale of them at other colleges and universities throughout the continent, but I had never seen one in real life...until tonight. Leaving institute, I heard raucous and wild laughter emanating from the sidewalk next to the parking lot. Looking over in that direction, I beheld....togas. Lots of them. Worn by boys and girls alike, all waiting in line to get on a bus from Lister Hall (a dorm) to go on the weekly university pub crawl. Backing out of my space, I noticed a gentleman crossing to the bus behind me stop to re-wrap his unraveling toga. I was afraid to keep watching for him, because I feared he might have decided to go commando under his toga (he didn't have a shirt on), and for a moment I was truly terrified that he was naked. Then I realized he was wearing khakis, so I didn't have to run him over for subjecting me to his nekkidness.
7. The university has a weekly pub crawl. Tonight's was toga-themed, but every Thursday night, around 9:30-10, when I'm leaving institute, students are lining up to take the buses out to the pubs. School buses. Taking students to the pubs. On a school night. No, I'm not in Provo anymore.
8. REAL DIET COKE, SOLD ON-CAMPUS!!!! Now this, I can get behind.
For the record, let me get one thing straight - BYU students aren't perfect, and it's not like Provo is only inhabited by Mormons. Also, I moved back to CA from Provo five years ago, and have not spent the last five years in a hermetically sealed bubble, where none of these unpleasant things could get at me. It's been quite the opposite - I've been teaching middle school science. But there is a certain feel to a college/university campus, or at least, a certain feeling I get when I am the student on that campus, and this time around, it's...different. Not necessarily bad, although it is jarring to hear my classmates swear during class discussions, but definitely different.
Amen to #5!! And that's too bad they are swearing during discussions. Aaron says people do it during business meetings, and it just makes them sound ignorant. It's like, keep it in your personal discussions, not in one where you are trying to sound intelligent.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I personally would love a school where no one smokes, but thankfully, it was a very rare thing at UCLA anyway. It wasn't until I studied in Spain that I was hit full on by smoking every where. My mom made me pack Fabreeze (sp?) in my suitcases when I went and I thought she was crazy. Boy was I happy she made me!
ReplyDeleteCursing in class discussions is def not something I'd be used to either. Also, like your friend said, I think it's totally obnoxious to swear in business meetings. It seems to happen too much here in DC (from what I can tell, anyway). Once I yelled at a colleague at my first job who came in to the charter school office as a new guy and started swearing up a storm in our meetings. My job was to take the minutes only, but I couldn't hold my tongue. He was the only swearer in the office and he was way out of place.
I've never liked coffee, never drink it, but if you pass me a tea I'm all warm and fuzzy inside. ^_^
As for the rest, aye, we public school students are a bit weird. But I promise, it's not all bad either! And yes, I went to a toga party at a frat my first year. I remember being offered many beers (and always turning them down-not only was I not a drinker, but hello, I was not dumb enough to test the drinking waters at a FRAT PARTY). And then a guy asked me if I wanted to "see his room." Yes, in that knowing way. I balked, ran away and told all my friends that I couldn't believe (and still can't) that just asking that would work for him on some girls. Eep.
But I promise, we aren't all bad. :-) And the rest of the toga party was fun. hehe
AYE Sorry for the long post!
@ Caroline - I miss that couch! And yeah, the swearing - it undermines what they're trying to say. I can't take someone seriously when half their comment is swearing.
ReplyDelete@ Christy - it's just weird to me, actually having the "college" experience, and me an old lady at that. Looking at the toga people, I was thinking, "Wow. People actually do that. Hmm." I kind of feel like an anthropologist. And the swearing, it honestly reminded me of class debates, when Narresh would drop an f-bomb, and there'd be a noticeable tension in the room. Sophomore year, holla!
Really, it's not bad, it's just different than what I'm used to, but probably pretty typical, eh? Also, good for you for running - creeper! I wonder if it HAD worked for him, or if he was just trying it out.
Ohman, I completely understand the "old lady" mentality on the college campus. Thankfully, when I did grad school, most of my classes were off campus. If confronted by undergrads, I may have flipped out. No, I know I would have flipped out. Not that I'm all grown up yet, but there is quite a difference in those years.
ReplyDeleteI'm am all for your anthropological studies! Please proceed and report on any other activities of that strange group that is made of up the college co-ed.
I should say, my response to the guy at the toga party was, "um, no thanks . . . " before running away. His answer (essentially, "okie dokie!") was the most amusing part of the rather odd experience. It was as though he asked if I wanted to share his candy bar and I said I didn't like caramel.
And please, let's pretend my naive high school dating life never existed . . sigh. :-p