Bridgewater State’s culture is a mix of different qualities
Kayla Lemay
Comment Staff
Does Bridgewater State University have an identity? Something that makes it – and us as a student body – unique?
Not particularly.
As a freshman, the only thing I heard about the school was that it was a backpack school – as in, it was mostly commuters and everybody went home on the weekends.
Now in my junior year, I would have to agree that backpack school is a very accurate term.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t exactly like that as our identity. I reject that. But what else are we here at BSU?
We’re a lot of things. We have over 11,000 students, so what could we all have in common besides the basics? Age doesn’t really matter here, nor does gender, or any other basic facts.
Some schools are known for certain people.
Are we the school that had a kid arrested for a nerf blaster on campus? Definitely not.
Considering the Business Insider article, we might be known as the school with the alcohol problem. Whether that is from the arrest policy or we have a large population of underage drinkers, I’m not sure.
All of those just sound like really horrible things to be known for, so let’s think of the positives.
While the numbers don’t say so, we’re incredibly diverse here on campus in terms of race. La Sociedad Latina, African Student Association, Asian Student Union, and more all exist on campus and are some of the most active clubs on campus, offering all sorts of events for students to attend.
Our Pride Center is an incredibly open place for anybody to just hang out in their office in the RCC. They also offer training to become a GLBTA Ally, which is something to be proud of, and I swear that isn’t just bias talking.
Greek Life on campus may not be anything like Hollywood says it is, but it certainly offers some amazing opportunities to give back to the community and make some amazing friends.
Speaking of giving back to the community, that seems to be something BSU is really into. From Alternative Break trips to simply serving meals at a local homeless shelter, community service opportunities are endless on campus.
Combine all of that, and that really is what BSU is all about. Don’t let the negatives fool you. BSU may not have one singular identity, but everything that makes us good shines pretty bright.
Kayla Lemay is the General Assignments Editor at The Comment. Follow her on Twitter @klemay123 or email her at klemay@student.bridgew.edu.
