Synthesis: What can we learn from labels?

Date published: 10/16/2006

In high school, it was jocks, nerds, Goths, emos, on down the list. In college, the scene changes a little--now you must choose to belong to the party-hard crowd, the Christian crowd, the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered) crowd, the sports crowd, the multicultural crowd and so forth.

Although no one I've seen has been wearing all black or skateboarding everywhere they go, it's not as though labels have gone away. They've simply changed to reflect the pseudo-adult world in which we now live.

To some extent, I think this is a good thing. Realism isn't something very common on a college campus, but in high school, few students have ever heard of the word. While being known solely for what you do on Friday and Saturday nights is somewhat judgmental, it's better than being judged based on what music you like.

Hey, a few people I know even care about politics. More are likely to spout out their opinion than actually vote, but intelligent discussion isn't too hard to find. After all, the university I attend is known for its academic rigor, and specifically, its large government department.

Still, many students, nerd and non-nerd alike, begin forming their political opinions during this time in their life.

They're learning in class about how the world works, and they're probably paying taxes or will start soon. No longer are they minors, dependent on their parents for everything. It's not to say that college is like real life, but concepts like responsibility coming with freedom are slowly becoming a reality in many students' lives.

What's really interesting is when supposed stereotypes don't fit a single person at all. I know of some who are for gay marriage, yet support tax cuts and the continued deployment of troops in Iraq, as well. Someone who considers himself only slightly religious may be much more morally conservative than a "my way or the highway" denominational Christian.

Date published: 10/16/2006