There are many perks of going to a small liberal arts school. There are small class sizes, professors know your name, the campus is small enough that the farthest class away is maybe a block, and many other things. But the worst part about going to a small liberal arts school, is that everyone knows who you are. Well, at least thinks they do.
At Beloit, there are so many clubs and activities that can become a part of one's identity. There are varsity athletics, intramurals, boating club, sorority and fraternities, French club, geology club and many more clubs students can be a part of. There are also many students who come from different backgrounds that shape who they are as people. Students have their own stories and perspectives on life that fill into their identities. With all of these activities and backgrounds at Beloit people would think that students of Beloit College have an immense amount of layers to them and they do, but with a small school comes a price.
Even with all of the diverse backgrounds and all of the social groups at school, students can take someone and form a wrong identity for them. People want a say in their identity without having others create it for them, but at Beloit, it is hard to stray away from that. Stereotypes come easily at this small school. Even when someone does not know a person, they will still find a way to judge others for a rumor or something they saw.
Rumors arise mostly on weekends. The weekends at Beloit are very low key and are nothing like a state school, but the rumors are bigger. Something small like a new girl hanging around the guys you usually hang out with can result in calling the girl “cool aid hair girl” or calling her bad names. In all reality, this girl is an amazing athlete and extremely kind to others. Or someone could want to go to a formal just to hang out with her friends and give them support can be called shady by a fraternity because she is trying to bum a date. No matter their identities outside of the rumor, the rumor will always win.
People at Beloit take a lot out of context. With being such a small school, students think they know everything about everyone, but in all reality, they are just bored with their own lives so they want to get in on others. They feel the need to talk about other people because they want to believe the nasty rumors instead of getting to know someone for who they truly are. There are a lot of remarkable people at this school, but a lot of those people are sadly misinterpreted because of their mistaken identities.
With calling someone names and telling rumors about one another it causes people to shape people's identity without their permission. One's identity is the most important thing a person can have and it is often taking away at a small school.