My favorite way to pass the time on campus is people watching. Our campus is a has as a culture of students seeking higher learning. KSU has changed over the past 49 years of its existence. What hasn’t changed are the stereotypes that college students seem to gravitate toward when they leave the sheltered world of high school. As students, we need to stop feeding these stereotypes and create new personas for ourselves and our school. I am taking the initiative and I’m calling out those who perpetuate these clichés.
I know that spring has arrived and so has the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather out on the campus green. Hanging with friends and throwing a football or Frisbee is perfectly okay, but do you really need to do this shirtless? I know that we are in the prime of our lives and you really want to show off your “bod” to the ladies, but it is tacky to run around without a shirt. Why not impress said ladies with your athletic skills instead of your athletic build?
Another spring-related cliché is the obsession with Croakies. If you are out-and-about and you want to make sure your sunglasses don’t fall off, sure that is fine. If you are in class and you don’t even hang your sunglasses around your neck using those Croakies, that isn’t fine. What is the point of wearing them if you don’t plan on using them for their intended purpose?
I am not only bashing the stereotypical Frat boy. Near every smoker section on campus, you will see a male carrying or playing an acoustic guitar. He may be strumming his own cover of John Mayer or maybe he is attempting to woo a girl with his bands biggest “hit.” In either case, he is giving into the stupid stereotype. No one cares about your band and no one likes you playing. A guitar does not make you cool or original and it most definitely does not make you edgy. Put down the guitar for all of our sakes. Oh and also your sleeveless, button-up American flag shirt is tacky and embarrassing for everyone around.
Ladies, it isn’t just men who shamelessly propagate stereotypes. College is a time to reinvent yourself. You are finding new clothing and styles you like. Most of you ladies found your new style in the bookstore while waiting to buy your books. Please stop covering your lives in Vera Bradley. It seems like every girl in our university has suddenly exploded in quilted purses. I don’t think I know a single woman under the age of 25 who doesn’t have a Vera Bradley wallet with her keys attached and her student id showing. It’s the uniform of our school.
And finally, in the interest of balance, I know that people like me need to stop wearing sweater vests. Anyone who knows me knows of my love for sweater vests, but it is time to lay them to rest. They don’t make us look more intelligent, they just make us look snooty. Also the sweater vest has been tainted by Santorum.
Students of KSU we need to end this procession of trite styles. Take the time to eliminate at least one of these clichés from your wardrobe and find something new to wear.
Oh Carl… You’ve shown some flaws in your reasoning man. Your rant about shirtless dudes will showcase Reasoning Flaw 1: Talking badly about guys and their muscles brings your reader’s to a fairly obvious assumption as to why this bothers you. Hit the gym regularly. Enjoy that side of KSU’s culture, then maybe looking at those that do will bother you less.
Your opinion’s about our student musicians was just hateful. I for one am looking forward with great anticipation to spring, when the wind will bring with it the musical tones of guitar strings and box pings. Here lies Reasoning Flaw 2: You assume your opinion is worth speaking; these kids are talented, why would anybody want to suppress that?
While your point about fads with the ladies has some validity, your presentation was awful, bringing me to Reasoning Flaw 3: You insulted the ladies. Only a select few types of people insult women, or anyone else for that matter. Your attempt to define your own cliche’ brings me to Reasoning Flaws 4 and 5: You forget that intelligence without empathy is nothing, and you think it’s the sweater vest that makes you look snooty.
Perhaps you’re intention was good; however, after reading such open insults towards your peers, I must say that whatever goodness you intended has been utterly lost. Tell me, how did you imagine this article would help people let go of their cliche’s? For most people, humiliation tends to make them stick to their clicks even harder, if for no other reason than to piss people like you off. Let people be, and if you do want to get involved, show some love about it would you?
You want cliché, just take a look at the article itself. Like nearly every other opinion article in this newspaper, it seems to focus on the negatives of college experience, and chastises entire groups of people on campus. So here’s my challenge to everyone who writes in the opinion section of the Sentinel: Try to write an article that does the opposite. Focus on all the positives, why you like the campus, or the people here, and just ignore the negatives for once.
p.s. What makes you think that people who play guitar are trying to be “edgy”? Is it not entirely possible that they just enjoy playing a musical instrument? Honestly, the only reason I play any instrument is for the sheer joy of creating something, not necessarily to look good doing it…and I’m sure that I’m not alone in doing so.