As American college students, we are susceptible to some of the most pervasive stereotypes in our country. Regardless of our gender, race or religious affiliation we are all believed to have a handful of certain non-ideal characteristics and habits. I’m not talking about the school-specific stereotypes, like N.C. State students are all rednecks.
No, the stereotypes I’m talking about transcend even college affiliation. Just like everyone else in the world, I don’t like people assuming anything about my character. So let’s take a look at exactly what these stereotypes are and who’s to blame for our bad reputation.
1. We can’t take care of ourselves.
What it is: Anytime an “outsider” visits a college student’s abode, whether it’s a dorm or an off-campus house/apartment, they expect to see a high degree of slovenliness. There will be random piles of clothes strewn about everywhere that may or may not be clean. Dishes have long since stopped being used because after the dishwasher broke and the sink got full, the only food ever eaten was from a fast food place. The floor has so many stains, hairs and other junk in it, you think you see a colony of people beginning to develop.
Who’s to blame: The people responsible for this are the average sheltered freshmen. These people have lived their whole lives having their moms clean up behind them. They never realized the kitchen wasn’t a magical place where food was conjured into existence and where dishes cleaned themselves while helping the trash get rid of the refuse. Unfortunately, they never have the time to learn and eventually just learn to deal with the mess. At least until someone else cleans it up.
2. We love cheap beer and gasoline with energy drinks.
What it is: Anytime a college student tells someone they are going out for the night, it is automatically assumed they are on their way to a serious rager with cheap beer, scummy vodka and anything else that could possibly inhibit brain function for a while. Occasionally, you go to a party just to drink and drink and drink, but these are usually reserved for special occasions. Most of the time going out for the night entails a couple of friends hanging out, drinking a few beers and having a relaxing, good time.
Who’s to blame: The blame of this defamation of our character falls on the shoulders of your typical frat boys and sorority girls. With their nice clothes and talk about scholastic integrity and Greek letters, the frat crowd tries to pass itself off as a decent bunch of human beings. However it has been well documented that people of this ilk are really all about partying and drinking things that would make Jack Sparrow think twice.
3. We never sleep
What it is: Actually this isn’t an unjust stereotype. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been to a college campus where I haven’t run into someone suffering from sleep deprivation, drinking their eighth cup of coffee for the day, or have developed some sort of depraved schedule where they sleep during their breaks while they ride a bus.
Who is Responsible: As much as I hate to admit it, this actually falls on all of our shoulders. It’s not the professors’ fault for giving us an inordinate amount of work to be done in an ever-shrinking amount of time. It’s obviously our own fault for not managing our time effectively. We waste so much time eating and going to lectures and trying to maintain a sane amount of social skills when we should be getting our work done.
Editor’s Note: A sentence from this column has been removed by the editor-in-chief due to an unjust accusation.
