Can you picture a Brandeis student in Cancun? I didn't think so.
One of my friends transferred to Tufts this January after three semesters here at Brandeis. I was perturbed, as she seemed happy and had a lot of friends. I asked her best friend about the transfer, and the friend replied to me, "She wanted more of a typical, all-American type of experience at college."Brandeis isn't exactly what you think of when you talk about the typical American college, but her simple remark got me thinking. Why isn't Brandeis an all-American school?

March is the month of two essential all-American collegiate experiences, spring break and March madness. Why can't we picture Brandeis students in Cancun downing shots, flashing crowds, and being featured on a "Girls Gone Wild" video? How about thousands of Brandeis students traveling across the country for the NCAA tournament, jumping up and down, painting their faces and storming the court?

Brandeis, spring break and March madness could never co-exist, due to the academic calendar and the fact that Brandeis is a Division III school. But most students would say that the answer lies in something more. It is not because one speaks Spanish in Cancun instead of Yiddish, or because hot dogs aren't kosher at many basketball arenas. It is not because Brandeis students would condemn wet T-shirt contests due to their misogynistic nature, or because our mascot is an Owl. It is some mysterious factor that separates us from the annoying, hypothetical and non-existent "average college student."

What makes us different? It's not location-see BU or BC-or our emphasis on academics-see Duke or Stanford. It may be the fact that Brandeis has no traditions or rivalries, which are key components in perpetuating school spirit. Or it could be the fact that many students here are serious and driven, causing the extinction of "Thirsty Thursdays" and the invention of "Study Saturdays." It could be the lack of Greek life or the presence of religious life.

Whatever the reason, I often feel that Brandeis' lackluster social life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. As my mother warned me when I was stricken with a quacking epidemic in third-okay, tenth-grade, "if you quack like a duck enough, you will become one." If Brandeis students keep complaining about poor social life and the reputation remains, then students looking for a social life will go elsewhere, and, if they end up here, they will immediately buy into the attitude surrounding them.
Although Brandeis is light-years from the all-American experience in some people's minds, I don't really believe that we are so atypical. I'm positive that, if you placed a typical Brandeisan in an atmosphere like Ohio State, a monster-sized public university, he could definitely be a loud proponent of school spirit. It's just his fellow students' indifference to Brandeis spirit that perpetuates his own apathy.

Some students are working hard, doing everything they can. They are holding forums, they are giving away free pizza at basketball games, and they brought the dreamy John Mayer to perform at Gosman. There are dances, events, speakers and plays every weekend.

To be honest, I actually can picture Brandeis students painting their chests, cheering enthusiastically, and roaring in unison at a great basket, because I saw a flash of it at the ECAC final. I can picture Brandeis students downing jello shots, because I see plenty of it in Rosenthal, let alone the wet quads. At this point, it is up to the students to stop complaining that Brandeis is atypical and to start contributing to its typicality.