Groups of Asians roaming the halls in inconsiderate Mongol hoards. Loud-mouthed black students dancing and fighting in the SU.
Pretentious white students looking down on their SUNY brethren and verbally disrespecting all non blanches.
And Jews drinking down that Manishevitz as they devour their ham sub (and ham sub only) for lunch, all the while grasping their wallets as if there was comfort in knowing that their money literally could not be closer to their hands.
Welcome to the wonderful world of UB stereotypes. Everyone knows them, everyone sees them, but hopefully, very few believe them to be true.
Our collegiate community is a melting pot of race, gender, ethnicities, sexual preference, religion and whatever else I forgot. Our diversity adds to the beauty and in the end it is that beauty that makes us the crown jewel of the SUNY system.
But as one roams the halls, it has become more than apparent that birds of a feather often do flock together. The collectivism of ethnic groups hanging together in bulk has spoon-fed the various UB stereotypes. Countless people believe that UB isn't one big educational conglomerate, but a group of exclusive cliques, all clicking separately, making their way through the educational ladder and never breaking away from their clich?(c)d, stereotyped roots.
Well, I'm here to tell you that this "problem" can be solved. We don't have to be known as "Jew-B." Those absurd statements about Asians being everywhere, in large groups, often dressed in urban apparel, many of whom are rocking blowouts or wearing oversized puffy coats, can be thrown out the window. But we're going to have to work at it, together, forever.
Instead of pointing out stereotypes and hating them for what they are, why not make them a part of you? If a stereotype for one ethnicity is adopted by another, it's no longer indigenous to whichever group it was once branded to.
If the stereotype becomes a part of you, then you become the stereotype and unless you hate yourself, and probably listen to Drop Dead, Gorgeous, the whole negative contextualized meaning behind the UB stereotype would be defeated.
So how does one go about doing this?
Instead of being one group, we could merge with other students from ethnicities and backgrounds that are askew from our own. If every group of friends has an assortment of ethnicities, it would be impossible to stereotype that united nation of friends.
Integrating cliques is just the beginning. To further send the UB stereotype into meaningless purgatory, why not have certain groups adopt stereotypes that aren't their own. Let's throw 'em off: girls from Long Island ridding their closets of Gauchos, UGGS and UB sweats, Asian guys not studying, Asian girls wearing Apple Bottom jeans with the boots with the fur and being courteous and saying thank you when you hold the door open for them, black students being quiet, white students not listening to the Dave Matthews Band or proclaiming their forthcoming Keystone or vanilla Dutch Master related festivities, Jews not thinking they're of a darker complexion and not eating panini.
If the stereotype is stripped of its so-called dignity, it becomes broken and eventually it will kill itself. That, my friend, is great success.
But who are we really? We live in a P.C. world where everyone is scared to say how they feel and nervous to change. We follow in the footsteps of those who are like us and this has consequentially led to years upon years of stereotyping. Let's change this.
So when someone asks you why you're dressing a certain way, talking in a certain manner, or doing something different than what is to be expected, you can respond with the utmost content: "I'm being myself. I am the stereotype."
*April Fools Article Disclaimer - This content of this article was
published as a "joke" and may contain invalid or false information.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
