I am a sophomore transfer student, and this is my first year at Lewis & Clark. I spent my first year of college at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the most competitive schools in the country. There are 33,078 undergraduate students at Berkeley — 15 times more than the 2,205 here at LC. In such a large pond, you become nothing but a speck, just another face in the crowd. My Introduction to Astronomy class had over 400 students, so many that the professor discouraged us from coming to class. Instead, he suggested we watch the recorded lecture the next day because there were too many students to fit in the lecture hall. With that many people, competitiveness becomes necessary for survival. In order to pass classes, get ahead of curves and have professors who know your name, you are forced to see every other student as an opponent. Competition this extreme was more isolating than anything I have ever experienced.
The competitive nature of Berkeley has persisted for decades. I had an older professor who went to Berkeley as an undergraduate around the ’60s or ’70s. He told me that, before the wonderful invention of the internet, the university posted everyone’s GPAs publicly in the dorm halls in a ranked list. This extreme public humiliation caused a culture of competitiveness that continues to this day. No matter what class or what subject, the people sitting next to you are not seen as peers, but instead as enemies you have to rise above. Each aspect of life is geared towards success in the professional world. Every class towards a master’s program, every professor a path toward an internship and every club a line on your resume. No part of life is for social connection or fun.
I have a friend who was a film major and wanted to join the film club on campus. He tried once and was denied entry during our freshman year. He tried again the next year, only to be rejected once again. I had a similar experience in my attempt to join clubs; each club on campus requires interviews, resumes, paying dues and knowing someone in a position of power within the club to join. The extremely competitive nature of the college fosters an environment suited for professional success, but simultaneously breeds isolation and loneliness.
At LC, that competitive nature does not exist to the same extreme extent. The people here are all ambitious and intelligent but are also kind and open. You can find a collaborative spirit in every classroom and in every subject. Many majors are interdisciplinary, allowing for mixing and collaborating between subjects. I have only been here a few weeks, but I was met with open arms by The Mossy Log and have been published already. The club fair was full of excited people ready to let you into their community. I have made friends in classes and had meaningful conversations with my professors. My experience at LC so far, being the polar opposite of last year, has been incredibly uplifting. My goals are clearer, my mental health has improved and I feel like I have a real sense of belonging.
I encourage you all to maintain the collaborative nature that makes LC a safe haven for many of us who have experienced toxicity in other academic settings. I encourage you to talk to that person in your class, say hi to that acquaintance at the Bon and make a new friend in a club. Go to that professor’s office hours and relish the fact that you can talk with them one-on-one. Though competitiveness has its virtues, collaboration is the best avenue to follow in order to gain genuine connection and learning amongst peers. Collaboration creates an environment that is ideal for academia and ultimately, success.
Leave a Reply