An Analysis...

I feel like an anthropologist these days. You see, I am employed by my third institution of higher education, and at this still-early point in my career I feel like I could write a book on the differences between these places. Their sizes, campus styles, insitutional missions, student demographics, and subtle student cultures are so vastly different from one another, and I am still absorbing all the new elements that make the U of M unique from OBU or Baylor.

Somethings I am observing/learning...

What is considered to be cool changes drastically from one student body to the next.

• At OBU, it was very cool to wear your vintage-looking duds while chilling to the latest, obscure emo music on your Ipod and researching the latest social justice issues on your laptop for fun. It was cool to be intellectual, and not cool to be a conservative Christian who used black-and-white, church-campy language. Relationships between the opposite sex were automatically assumed, quick to develop, and often led to serious long-term commitment (often engagement before graduation).
• Here, it is cool to wear sunglasses on a strap around your neck (what!?!), to dress casually (with the exception of a few students I know who intentionally dress up every day) to listen to the latest rap/r&b music (regardless of the color of your skin), to have school spirit, and to go downtown on the weekends. Students rarely date exclusively, preferring to "just talk."

The politics of the core group differ.

• At OBU, "in-group" status often depended on your relationships with faculty and staff. However, once those groups are established they are fairly cut-and-dried in their operations with very little political interplay between officers and members.
• Students here are much more political in their interactions and organizations (just ask me about last weekend's Panhellenic Exec elections...yikes!). I like to believe what people tell me. I like to think that people have good intentions, that they do not manipulate people or circumstances for their own gain, that they do not lie or twist the truth. This is not always so. I am quickly learning to question most of what is told to me and to not take anything as the gospel truth.
• In regards to the above statement, not all students who appear to be untruthful or manipulative are meaning to be so. Perception is everything, and perception creates our reality; our reality leads us to speak and act. Whether those words and actions eventually end up reflecting what is really happening is not always reliable. And that is true no matter where you go!

Diversity is a beautiful thing.

• Unfortunately, OBU is still in the Dark Ages when it comes to the support of minority students. Not only do students of color go without specialized groups and services unique to their experiences of college, but so do first-generation college students. Students of color rarely serve in leadership positions and topics like diversity and white privilege are rarely discussed in or out of the classroom.
• U of M, however, is incredibly diverse, and minority students are often taking the lead in the major workings of the student body. I am often the only white person in the room, and I am daily working with people who have different cultural backgrounds, faith affiliations, and sexual preferences. It is a fun challenge to have to think outside of the box of my own experiences and assumptions.

I'm know the learning will continue, but there is the initial outpouring of my thoughts and impressions as of late. This is one of those posts where my blog is more "personal reflection/preservation of thoughts journal" than "cute, funny way of keeping in touch with friends and meeting random people with whom I share things in common website." Hope you don't mind!