QUICK! Describe the typical U.Va. student. White. Fairly - if not very - well-off. Hailing from Northern Virginia. Probably involved in the Greek system. Those are almost always the first traits that spring to mind. This school is mired in tradition and reverent of its past to the point of excess. So it is easy, especially for first years, to see the traditions and the typical and to feel like the only way to "do" the University is to follow the crowd. Fortunately, this isn't the case, and the sooner you realize it, the more you can enjoy your time here.
Even from a statistical perspective, the "typical" U.Va. student is hardly the only type of person wandering grounds. According to statistics from the University Web site, 32 percent of undergraduates are from out of state, around 23 percent are here using some form of need-based financial aid, 70 percent of both men and women are not involved in a fraternity or sorority, and 70.3 percent are white American, leaving 29.7 percent non-white, foreign students or among the 2 percent declining to classify themselves. And, of course, even those who do demographically match the "typical" University student are not all the same person with the same experiences and background.
One of the rumors rampant in first-year dorms is that pledging a traditional fraternity or sorority is the only way to get socially involved. Alternately, many of those who do not get involved in Greek life see it as inherently evil. Many fraternity brothers and sorority sisters establish close and lasting friendships with one another. Many other students build similar ties through the University's very social, honor and service fraternities or through one of many clubs and organizations whose members grow close. So rushing is a great idea for anyone even casually interested in the Greek system - or anyone who wants legitimately to criticize it - so long as two things are kept in mind. Rushing a sorority or fraternity is not a commitment to join one, you can just as reasonably decide that it isn't for you, and pledging is not the only way to find a close circle of friends.
Other consequences of the image of the typical U.Va. student are not so easy to dismiss. The University is a top-ranked institution and a great place to get an education, both in and out of the classroom. Its traditions are a treasured part of what makes this university unique. Unfortunately, the University also has an oppressive past. Women weren't widely admitted until 1970 and at one time, the University paid for African-American students to attend elsewhere under the guise of "separate but equal."
As students at a post-whites only, post-all male University, we're the keepers of traditions from a more exclusive time, and while all of these traditions deserve respect, they don't deserve reverence. Question them.
If the Greek system strikes you as too homogenous, check out the relatively new Multi-Cultural Greek Council or the Black Fraternal Council. If other organizations on Grounds, including The Cavalier Daily, seem to you to be too white - as many of the older ones traditionally have been - challenge them to think differently. And at least think about the Good Ol' Song's "Not gay" addendum. If you decide to chant along, you won't be the last and you certainly won't be the first. If, however, you decide that the chant is inappropriate, don't do it, and tell your friends to cut it out too.
One way to make sure your University experience is one you enjoy is to resist the urge to do things just because "everyone" here does them or because that's the way things have "always" been done. That's not to say to avoid things that are popular, just try not to do them only for the sake of tradition or because they're mainstream. But for goodness sake, streak the Lawn once; some traditions just shouldn't be messed with.
(Megan Moyer is a Cavalier Daily columnist. She can be reached at mmoyer@cavalierdaily.com.)
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