Inclusivity & Individualism: Counterculture at Colgate

Part One: The Basics

What is counterculture? Who is it? Is it that twink in a crop top? The straight girl who wears docs to class? That guy who smokes a bowl before office hours?

Now, I could add Webster’s dictionary definition of counterculture as an answer to these questions. But that would make this introduction feel cliche. And that’s not counterculture. Put simply, counterculture is a way of life that opposes social norms. However, social norms differ everywhere you go; there is no universally applicable expression of counterculture.

So, to determine what counterculture looks like at Colgate, let’s first explore what culture exists here. In preparation for the writing of this article, I interviewed three of my good friends and gathered their thoughts on the state of Colgate’s social environment. My first question: Does Colgate have a culture?

The resounding answer: Yes. I’ve never really believed culture didn’t exist here; just because I don’t embrace or relate to what I see doesn’t mean what I see isn’t real. This culture has been described in a variety of ways: “...name brands like Lululemon, Patagonia…taking Instagram photos at Slices…or with large groups of people with party lighting to indicate that you’re at a party with a lot of people,” according to Melanie Tlaseca-Verde. Or, according to Drew Tompkins, “...white upper-class people who party too much, wear Canada Goose…and don’t really have a care in the world.” Bethany Neufield said, “I don’t know how I’d describe it; it’s just very basic. Everything is so surface level so it almost feels like there’s no culture here, but because…[expression, behavior, fashion] is embedded in that surface level persona, that kinda makes it the culture.” Me personally? I’d say Colgate’s culture is akin to a Vineyard Vines outlet store in some suburban New England hellscape. Nevertheless, the topic of each conversation consistently devolved into that one looming and essential aspect of Colgate’s little realm: Greek life.

“I consider myself an outsider,” said Melanie, “Cus I’m not in greek life, and that’s like a defining identity here.” Every interviewee expressed frustration with how Greek life at Colgate dictates our social terrain. In my own opinion, it is influential to an insidious degree. And a community built around Greek life is bound to generate the pernicious realities our campus faces, like exclusivity, elitism, vanity, and vapidity. “For some reason here there’s a stigma against throwing open parties, because it means you're like the lowest of the low,” said Bethany. “This is coming from a guy I knew in a frat…he basically told me…if you are trying to climb the small rank of sororities and frats here, you want to be as exclusive as possible.” The rush process alone reinforces stereotypical beauty and popularity standards reminiscent of those we subscribed to back in high school. Through rush, GLOs (Greek life organizations) are free to codify their own cycles of discrimination without consequence. For example, I’ve heard stories from queer friends of mine who dropped out after certain GLOs failed to acknowledge them by the correct pronouns. The whole process acts as a means to reduce & simplify people into a sanitized version of themselves that looks good in an Instagram post.

So what does counterculture look like at a university whose collective culture has formed as a byproduct of all these malicious qualities?

Part Two: Inclusivity

Let’s talk about inclusivity. The best parties I’ve attended on this campus were held by the likes of La Casa & Pink Haus; there is a capacity to dance & be joyous in such spaces, as well as the promise of safety and acceptance for people who feel uncomfortable within environments like those created by Greek life organizations. For example, a few weeks ago, Pink Haus hosted a lesbian soiree planned by Melanie Tlaseca-Verde, who said of the event, “A lot of people came up to me and said they felt safe…and I have never experienced that or been told that at any frat party I’ve ever been to. So in a way, that is like resistance to Greek life…but it wasn’t because of the absence of Greek life people or the absence of Greek life music, it was because of the presence of safe people and cool music, and a space that people could come and invite their friends to, and they know they’re gonna get in because we’re not losers that are gonna exclude people.”

When I think about my favorite events, I think about gatherings held mainly on Friday or Saturday nights; concerts, group relaxation activities, and bingo (I fucking love bingo). These are open, free events from which I’ve honestly formed some great memories. Most recently, the Live Music Collective hosted Punk Fest in the Hall of Presidents, of which Bethany said, “The people who came out were either involved or very interested in it…I went and enjoyed it for what it was, and it was just contrary to most Colgate activities. It was a place for people interested in unconventional interests to come together and enjoy the things they like.” Last semester, the Live Music Collective brought the band Mannequin Pussy to put on a live show, and it was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. However, events like these often get swept under the rug despite aggressive advertising campaigns because they clash with GLO affairs, i.e., formals. Since GLOs act to determine social standing on this campus and consume almost all aspects of a new pledge’s social life, they are given priority over events that would otherwise bring like-minded people together to indulge in their shared passions or interests.

At Colgate, partying is another essential aspect of the culture. Which is understandable; I mean, personally, I love to shake my ass in a mob of sweaty strangers. It’s fun, and it’s a good escape when you live in the middle of nowhere. But Greek life shifts the social dynamic when it comes to going out here in Hamilton. If you’re not a member of a GLO, it’s not likely you’ll find yourself out on the town unless you’re going to the Jug (God no) or DU (more Doja please), or those rare yet lovely La Casa or Pink Haus events. I’ve heard CAS (Creative Arts Society) has some good parties from time to time as well, although they are new this semester. Drew said, “I think there is partying outside of greek life…[but] it’s like GLOs take these people that are party-type people and you never get them back from that culture. And everyone else is just kinda hanging out and maybe partying occasionally. Like a house party would never happen at Colgate, like it literally never happens…it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy because people that come here are like ‘Well the only place to party is at a GLO, so they join a GLO.” I think Drew puts it best: “Can’t we chill?” he asks.

Drew and I also stayed at Colgate over the summer, doing research for the Chemistry Department and English Department, respectively. Before I got to Colgate in June, I’d have people tell me over and over, ‘it’s so fun over the summer because the parties are all open; no one cares about affiliations or anything like that.’ And they were right. Drew said, “We went to a house party…it was so much fun. It was so different…basically everyone I’d known who was here over the summer was there…everyone doing research was at a party, hanging out, and just chilling. Why can't we have that?” Well, at the end of the day, its chalked up to the “weird, perverted party culture here that’s fucking ancient.”

Part Three: Individuality

Most of the people I’ve spoken with throughout my time at Colgate are aware of the tendency for our student body to, for lack of a better word, blend together. This is evidenced in my interviewees’ mentions of name brands like Lululemon, Patagonia, etc. Last semester, I built a project for a queer research methods class that explored this blending phenomenon–I found that most of my interviewees noticed themselves changing their sense of style and buying new brands they’d never heard of to better fit in. To be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with this. But when a certain percentage of people subscribe to the status quo, those who don’t start to feel isolated. What I’ve learned through countless conversations is that isolation is a rather popular experience at Colgate. It’s relatively easy to look like you don’t belong on this campus, (secretly I kinda like this, because it makes me feel unique, which makes my little Aquarius heart happy), However, the reality of non-conformity is more sinister. When I’m not with my friends, I feel too scared to fully express myself. And I know I’m not the only one. “I don’t love being perceived by people here…cus I know that I am not like a poster-perfect Colgate person, and if someone looks closely at me, they’ll know that,” said Bethany.

This reminds me of a Yik Yak I saw a while ago that broke my heart. The Yak read something along the lines of, ‘Being visibly queer on this campus is really hard.’ I resonated with its message (I mean–I’ve worn a dress in Frank before, and that experience alone probably took years off my life), the Yak was littered with comments saying, ‘that’s your choice to make,’ or, ‘just stop making it visible.’ It made me so mad because there’s a reason people struggle to express themselves on this campus, and the majority of students just ignore it. Melanie put it brilliantly, “Here, the social capital…the value of beauty, is based on skinniness, whiteness, and sometimes money as well…because of my socioeconomic status and the way I look, I don’t feel valued, even though I know I’m valuable regardless of that.” This makes me think back to the ALANA Multicultural Fashion Show that took place earlier this semester and how lovely that environment was; we all just hyped each other up and called each other beautiful and really meant it. And that felt like a contrast to what often happens outside of these spaces, where if you really start to take risks with your fashion and self-expression, you’re often met with judgemental stares. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the bar for taking risks wasn’t already in hell.

Greek life has a tangible role in this constraint of student self-expression. Its grip on campus culture further upholds the homogenization of this classic “Colgate student.” After all, the people you surround yourself with influence the way you dress, GLO and non-GLO alike. This is why it’s so easy here to fall into typicality. And, it’s why individuality is counterculture at Colgate.

Part Four: Conclusion

I know this essay discussed many things, but at the end of the day, I just want to advocate for self-expression and inclusivity at Colgate. I think it’s deeply wrong to change anything about your fashion, your body, your personality, etc., to try and fit in. I recognize It’s easier said than done,. Especially within the grasp of greek life and especially within such a small community. But the imperfection & idiosyncrasy of human beings is really so beautiful, and for it to be stifled and sacrificed by the ancient, outdated system that is Greek life is a tragedy. Expressing yourself and your uniqueness on this campus is an act that inspires not only self-love and self-actualization, but also communal acceptance for a wider range of people.

To address inclusivity, I think open parties are a good start. Open parties allow different sets of students to mingle and learn about each other’s existence. Think about all those cool people you see in the library that you’ve never actually met. One of them could become your new best friend, your muse, your spouse, who knows. We have these deep divisions because we’re not getting to know each other; we’re segregating ourselves along arbitrary lines. I think, if we were to throw more open parties, they should be hosted outside of GLO spaces, as a means to de-emphasize those communal divisions (also because myself and many others are not yet comfortable in such environments).

Colgate is what you make of it. Yes, the community can be isolating in an already isolated location, which is suffocating for a significant portion of us. But this is why it’s so, so important to find your people here. If I didn’t have my gay little friends on this campus I’d probably go insane. So I embrace counterculture, inclusivity, and individualism, because if these ideals were more often pursued here, we could build a better place for a more diverse range of people. And that’s invaluable.

It is easy to fall down the hole of embracing Colgate’s culture or hating on it ‘til you leave. But that’s not how you should spend your years here. The spaces and people that exist outside of it all are so fucking delightful and lovely. I have a lot of hope that Colgate won’t be so discriminative and divisive in the future. It is these people and these spaces that give me such hope; it is individuality and inclusivity that make such a far-fetched future possible.