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Volume CXXXII, Number 20 |
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The pros and cons of campus cliques
BEN KREIDER
COLUMNIST
Like any other school, Bowdoin has cliques. Understandably, people relate to those with similar interests. Cliques are natural and inevitable, but the danger is when cliques limit the types of people we interact with and make us less tolerant of other groups.
It would be fruitless to categorize everyone on campus. Many students belong to several groups, and some groups are less defined than others. That being said, there are some clear social groups that play powerful roles on campus.
Sports teams and social houses are the two main players that create cliques. At dinner, the tables filled with students wearing Bowdoin warm-up jackets are omnipresent. It is an unwritten rule that only members of the team can sit at the table.
It is undeniable that each sports team is an exclusive sort of club. Athletes from some teams are even known to engage in bizarre sorts of rituals on weekends. Many people remark that sports teams seem to have taken the place of fraternities, and this seems to be fairly accurate. Athletes often party together on weekends, and their parties are far from open.
Now, it is not wrong for people with similar interests to spend time together. One of the great joys of sports is learning to work together with others and building friendships. That being said, there is such a thing as spending too much time with a very narrow group of people.
I have friends at other schools who are passionate ultimate frisbee players. They travel all across the country for tournaments and have bizarre nicknames for each other. Most of these friends have admitted that all of their friends are frisbee players.
Social houses are also becoming very cliquey, much like co-ed fraternities. Lately I have begun to observe that social houses are having more "closed" parties, where only those on a pre-approved list can attend. This list is rather arbitrary, as it does not just include members of the house and affiliates.
If this trend continues, what is keeping social houses from eventually morphing into co-ed fraternities? I understand the desire of social houses to establish communities, but they must be careful not to close their doors to everyone.
To me, hanging out with one group is both boring and harmful. While strong bonds may form, one loses out on a great deal when social interactions are limited. Bowdoin is a great school not because of its campus or endowment, but because it is full of students who have many different passions. There is more to learn outside the classroom than in the classroom, as hearing different perspectives makes one more open-minded and sympathetic.
My Bowdoin experience has been a rich one largely due to the many diverse people I have met here. I am proud to have friends who are athletes, actors, political enthusiasts, debaters, and outdoorsmen. It is enriching to know people with such a wide variety of academic and extracurricular interests. Life without such a diverse group of companions would be incredibly dull.
I do not want to come across as self-righteous here. Everyone decides for his or herself who to spend their time with, and who am I to criticize people's friends. What I would encourage people to do is go out on a limb and try to make new friends every week, if not every day.
It is simply amazing what different people have to offer. One of the joys of a liberal arts education is the learning that occurs outside the classroom. The more types of people we interact with, the more we can understand new perspectives. This knowledge makes us accepting of others who are different than us, and it makes us less likely to develop negative stereotypes.
To wipe out prejudice, we must wipe out our ignorance. The only way to do so is to spend time listening to people so we can understand where they are coming from.
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