Miami Student

Issue date: 3/29/05 Section: OpEd Page

I recently (and when I say recently, I mean over the weekend) had the opportunity to see my cousins from Boston when I was back home for the Easter weekend. They're both seniors in high school and are, like most people their age, in the midst of deciding upon where they would like to go to school next fall. For the sake of not embarrassing them should they actually go to school here next fall, I'll refer to them as Anna and Becca. They are indeed looking at our very own "public ivy," Miami, among other small universities in the New England area. When I was talking to them about why they were looking at Miami, it was pretty obvious that one of the biggest reasons is that their dad (my uncle) graduated from here in the 1970s. We also have a pretty decent family history here, with about a dozen or so immediate family members having strolled down slant walk and through Upham Arch in the last 30 years; they pretty much don't have a choice. So we got to that clichéd moment in the conversation where the twins just looked at me and expected me to start spouting off about why I love Miami so much. I thought about how I was in the same situation a few years ago and what others said about the school: It's a public ivy, an affordable elite school. U.S. News and Report, or some type of important publication that no one reads, ranked us high on some college list. Oh yeah, and you're here because you're smart. . . The used car salesman in me was dying to break out. Then I realized something. I couldn't care less about Miami's reputation anymore. I'm a part of Miami, for better or for worse. Do I like the school because of the cutesy architecture or the "small class sizes?" (Miami Plan, I think not) Do I like it because of all that crap that they tell you in the brochure or those campus tours? Well, actually I don't know how I would survive academically without those turtles next to the sundial, but that's beside the point. I like Miami because our university is committed to leadership and especially service as noted by my opportunities to get to know great people like Denny Roberts and Gary Manka. I like Miami because believe or not, we do have a pretty good Greek community. Ha! It's true. I like Miami because you can get involved with big events as a student, like being on Campus Activities Council and helping to produce and work backstage at a concert. I like Miami because I've found a pretty good group of friends that support me in whatever I do, even if it is to write a clichéd column for the school newspaper. I like Miami and I'm here because of the people that surround me, even if they prefer to pop that collar. I mean, it's their God-given right, right?

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools