First of all, I have never experienced another society that put so much store in the celebration of plaid. Of course, that just goes to show how much the Scottish heritage of our school's founder has left it's mark on the very foundations of life here. No other school in the country has a marching band, ours being fondly named "Kiltie Band", that requires its marchers to dress themselves in traditional Scottish outfits, complete with a gathering of blond hair (which could easily be mistaken for Hannah Montana's wig) down the front of their kilts. Here, at CMU, is also the only place in the country that provides a bagpiping major. And although not every student participates in scottish influenced activities, our lives related to this school has been pervaded by the very tartan pattern that represents our University. We are all proud to wear plaid patterns (which are usually complimented by fellow students) and get excited for little scottie dogs that remind us of our CMU fellowship underneath the umbrella of the scottish-influenced culture.
Another aspect of CMU that all students have been influenced by is the fact that we operate under a system of very distinct and separate colleges. With our 7-school system, including SCS, MCS, HSS, CIT, CFA, Tepper, and Heinz, everyone knows their home college and lives according to the preset requisites named by our different schools. Many students complain that because of the individuality of the colleges, it is hard to study outside of your school. It is a well known fact that students must gain admittance to CFA in order to major in music. However, since CMU is a top-tier school, many students are well-rounded and are therefore likely to be interested in many different areas of study. Although the school system makes it difficult to carry on with many different studies, it is true that this allows for a greater specialization in our areas of study, which can be beneficial when we move forward looking for careers.
Third, there are many things special to CMU that students here find themselves dragged into and able to become excited over. One of the more well known traditions is Buggy, in which small racing vehicles are engineered and raced competitively. Also, the infamous Fence, with it's "bloody" history is a trademark symbol of this university's campus. All the organizations around campus and the quirky students that fuel the community are all parts of what make Carnegie Mellon a place like no other. I feel lucky to be a part of this amazing experience.
Sorry in advance! I know this is a comment and not a post, but I could not for the life of me find the application for a new post. So, for now this will have to do.
ReplyDeleteI have gone to a Catholic school all of my life. I don't know what everyone else understands Catholic schools to be like, but they are not diverse at all. I could count minority groups on one hand, and in some cases one figure. As unfortunate as that is, I got used to my similar surroundings. I was never exposed to anyone really different than me. This lack of diversity that I've experienced my entire life is completely different here at Carnegie Mellon.
CMU brings together such a diverse group of students together. Not only racially diverse, but diverse in the what we study, how we act, how we socialize, how we spend our time. This diversity is what makes CMU a unique culture.
The other day I experienced a perfect example of how CMU is a truly unique culture. I was eating at the Underground with a friend, and while we were eating, we noticed all the different types of people that we gathered "underground" to eat. In one corner there were drama students singing and running lines in front of everyone. In another corner were some computer science guys, all with their laptops hard at work. Of course, there was some football played plopped in front of the big screen watching some tv. Among all of these different types of poeple, there was intermingling going on. Everyone was greeting everyone and speaking to one another.
What really makes CMU unique is the students. Not only because we are extremely diverse, but because we accept each others differences and want to learn from them. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to spend my college years here.
I also think that the quality of all of the different colleges within CMU makes it incredibly unique here. Students in each school receive top-knotch education. It's very rare to find that type of educational diversity within a university.
So, to conclude my post(or comment rather) I encourage everyone, if they haven't already, get to know your fellow schoolmates because they are the people that make CMU a unique culture.