So, although I'm just a little freshman, I feel like a year at University of Vermont has been enough to get a feel for it. And the most prominent feature of this place- besides the rolling hills and harsh winters- is the people. For all current students, you know what I'm talking about, for all prospective students, this is what you've gotta be prepared for. So here ya go, the 10 UVM stereotypes you see roaming these green and yellow halls:
1. The Social Crusader
These are the people who will never fail to remind you that sexuality is a social construction, that white privilege is indeed a thing, and that Bernie Sanders should be the love of your life. They're out there, they're PC, they're proud, and they're coming to crusade away all the social norms!!
2. The I-Should've-Gone-to-Yale-But-They-Didn't-Give-Me-Any-Money
Being in the Honors College, I encounter this type quite frequently. These are the people who got into Brown and Northwestern and all those "up-there" institutions, and would've gone if it weren't for that beautiful Presidential Scholarship that UVM bestowed upon them. Well, don't fear kids, there are plenty of capstones and thesis papers to go around in HCOL!
3. The (Wo)Man of the Wild
UVM being the green bliss that it is, there are inevitably people who go here for the surrounding bounty of nature. These are the people you see as you walk back to campus after a long night, emerging from the trees, covered in branches and wildflowers, talking about the spirituality of the sunset at Lone Rock Point. They might have even cliff dove, because they are also soaking wet. But, hey, you can't blame them for trying to be one with the universe.
4. The Hippie Goddess
When the harsh winters subside, you will see these flower children in their long, flowy garb, laying on each other in the middle of the green, stroking each other's hair, slow jamming to The Grateful Dead. UVM even has its own hippy commune, Slade Hall. So for all those who just want love and puppies, you have a refuge. Come one, come all.
5. The Alternative Punk
Tattoos of obscure animals draped across their chests, gauges on gauges, septum piercings, hair shaved on the sides and then dyed pink pastel, and leather jackets with clusters of patches overlapping one another. You'll get into fierce arguments with these peeps about the merits of the Ramones, and it'll end with them drowning you out with big headphones blasting Fugazi, because the world is fugazi and they don't even care about you anyway.
6. The Stoner
There's a reason UVM's color is green. And we all know what the Redstone Green looks like on 4/20. AND, it's gonna be legal pretty soon.
So you might say this describes our whole school. Not even gonna lie.
7. The Greek
Although greek life is not too big here, we still have our fair share of frat boys and sorority girls. And on a late Saturday night, you are sure to see one of these creatures falling out of a car window yelling obscenities- or the next morning, begging for your signature and donation on their latest charity. Either way, they add a little spice to campus life, so glad to see they're still doing their thing.
8. The Urban Girl in a Rural World
I could be considered within this category, being a native New Yorker. But I've also seen many others in the same boat. These are the girls who wear all black, kick ass, chain smoke, have a potty mouth, and are still bitching about the fact that nothing's open after nine pm in this god forsaken town!!!!! But hey, we've also never really seen trees before so that's pretty cool I guess.
9. The Ski Prep
This winter was a sad one for these fanatics. After all the hype to buy the ski pass, they were let down with an anomaly of a UVM winter. But they still have their skateboards and snow tricks and Vampire Weekend on vinyl and Jack Johnson playlists and floppy hair that just flips and flops everywhere and for the three hundredth time- I don't want to join the skiing and snowboarding club, no matter how many times you tell me it's the biggest club on campus!!!!
10. The Nudists
There's a reason Naked Bike Ride is a thing, and there's a reason almost every sports team has a naked calendar. Many people on this campus secretly wish they could nakedly roller blade their life away, and hey, I don't blame 'em. Except in the winters. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Sooo, obviously many of these overlap. And nobody is a stereotype. But UVM has its strange powers, and let me tell you, if you go here, you will not leave the way you came.
I promise.
