As a columnist, I read The Herald's Opinions page to see what my colleagues have to say. As a student, I read the Opinions page because, well, it's darn good theater. Column after column exposes a perceived injustice on campus, and the timeless practice of rhetoric oozes from the pages like hollandaise off of a poached egg.
These columns get my blood pumping every morning, and sometimes I'm moved to the point of pulling a Joe Wilson in the middle of the V-Dub. But here I'm going to buck the trend, and talk about how great Brown is, because as one of the happiest students in the country, according to the Princeton Review, I like it here — a lot.
Brown is a very accepting campus — we have Sex Power God, for goodness sake — and tolerance and openness seep from students on a daily basis, as if we were all made of sunshine. We have fervent debates between two sides which may seem irreconcilable, and we may never see where the other side is coming from, but we all agree and accept the fact that these debates can only happen here, at Brown.
The administration is actually helpful, unlike at other universities. After many appeals, the University now listens to our elected bodies and takes our concerns into account. In recent cost-cutting endeavors, the University strayed from cutting varsity sports in favor of streamlining other areas, in an effort to protect the student body. There are other schools that haven't been as lucky, losing big-name sports such as track or soccer.
As vice president of the Brown University Band, I've had many opportunities to work with our athletic department, and they've been incredibly helpful and courteous towards not only us, but to visiting bands as well. The culture of dialogue and tolerance we appreciate at Brown isn't present at other schools, as evidenced by the Band's recent away trip to Quinnipiac University and Princeton.
Quinnipiac is one of the most intolerant places you could ever spend a night. As most Brown students are aware, the Band is an irreverent, loud and sometimes obnoxious organization that supports all things Brown. Apparently, to the students of Quinnipiac, this is a crime against humanity.
We found ourselves the targets of increasingly derogatory slurs, which do not bear repeating here, but were extremely disrespectful and classless, and were usually aimed at select individuals in the Band who I assume looked like easy prey. The girls in the Band were harassed, and the boys in the Band were derided. Joining in on these insults were the most unlikely of people, including school-sponsored mascots, parents and other members of the Quinnipiac community.
As the game continued, these taunts and intimidations turned violent. One student was escorted from the building for physically striking a trumpet player's instrument while she was playing it. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but it's the most unsafe I've ever felt, and I've walked through some pretty dark alleys.
At Princeton, the community was much more welcoming, but the administration was still very insensitive to the needs of its students and those visiting. The Band found itself forced into the back corner of the rafters of their arena, with the excuse "Oops, we double-booked your section."
When we tried to appeal to someone higher in the hierarchy than the security guard, we were refused. When the friendly Princeton community tried to assist by moving to different seats, they were refused. The Princeton Band, which is one of the friendliest groups we've worked with, could only shrug their shoulders and say, "They do this all the time." Would either of these mind-numbing and inexplicable situations have occurred on College Hill?
It's important that, while we enjoy getting frothy at the mouth over the latest Corporation meeting, we must realize they're actually not all that terrible and anti-fun. More often than not, the University acts with the interest of all students at heart, not just those who attend Brown.
Consider it a blessing that we actually see our president around campus, rather than sitting in her ivory tower. Appreciate that she seems to genuinely like working here, interacting with students and the community. Revel in the fact that visiting students need not submit to draconian sign-in policies just to enter the dorm after we treat them to the splendor that is Ratty brunch. Realize that man, do we have it good.
Mike Johnson '11 is ever true.
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