Nebraska

Parents Forum
1

<p>My son has been getting tons of solicitations from lots of colleges, but usually only 1 or 2 pieces of info from each one.</p>

<p>U of Nebraska Lincoln, however, has sent him about 15 pieces of mail! No, I am not exaggerating! We really didn't look at them too closely because we read in a college book that they are primarily agricultural. (The book said one of their main events was the tractor pull!) No offense to agricultural folks, but my son would not fit in at a college big on football and tractor pulls.</p>

<p>But, they have offered him full tuition + room/board (for being a National Hispanic Scholar) + $2000 towards books etc.</p>

<p>Are we making a mistake here? Our impression was that it was similar in social climate to Texas A&M. </p>

<p>Anyone know anything about Nebraska? (primarily we are interested in social climate, political leanings, racism, diversity, are they open-minded or conservative, etc.)</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>I don't know anything about U Nebraska, but just a general comment. I'm suspicious when a big state U is described as "open-minded" or "conservative" (these two things are not polar opposites, by the way) or "racist" etc. In a university community of 10,000 or 20,000 people you will find EVERY sort of person -- communist, progressive, regressive, socialist, luddite, technophile, technophobe, racist, easy-going, uptight, nervous, calm, sober, drunk, druggie, 12-stepper, thugs, huggers, rapists, and even, I venture, any number of diverse elements. You can probably get the overall impression you are looking for, but you really can't predict a student's personal microsociety in advance. I went to a university that would have been described as heavily-academic, hard-working, and not very diverse. This was not at all how I experienced the campus. YMMV, of course, as I have not attended all big state Us everywhere. </p>

<p>(He's probably eligible for similar deals at Arizona, ASU and Oklahoma, by the way... if you didn't know.)</p>

3

<p>leal, go to the Pre-Med section and scare up BigRedMike (sp), he is a recent Nebraska grad and can fill you in. I wouldn't be worried about tractor pulls.</p>

4

<p>Anyone know anything about Nebraska? (primarily we are interested in social climate, political leanings, racism, diversity, are they open-minded or conservative, etc.)</p>

<p>I grew up in Nebraska, attended college and law school there, and NEVER saw a tractor pull. Some people think "agriculture" and no doubt put everyone at the school in some category of overall-wearing, straw-chewing hicks. Not true. In fact, not even close. Just another myth supplied to you by the "flyover folks".</p>

<p>And agriculture isn't even the most popular major. Those are business administration & management, psychology, and education. Like many colleges all over the country.</p>

<p>To answer your questions:</p>

<p>Social climate - always seemed to be accepting of others with differences. The frats and sororities played a role in the social scene, but did not dominate it. There are lots of things to do close to campus, and Omaha is only an hour away as well.</p>

<p>Political Leanings - Fairly middle of the road, with more "liberal" leanings in Lincoln and Omaha. Like anywhere, there are extremists on either end.</p>

<p>Racism - Not obvious to me when I was there. Probably about as "racist" as any other state university. As an anecdote, we had good friends whose son left the University of Texas after one semester because he felt it was VERY racist against blacks (everyone else's mileage may vary on that one; please don't crucify me for telling about someone else's experience!).</p>

<p>Diversity - 86% Caucasion, 2% Hispanic, 2% African American, 2% Asian, 1% Native American, 3% International. Kids from all 50 states and 115 countries.</p>

<p>Open-mindedness (I omitted the word "conservative" because that is not the opposite of open-minded, at least in my book) - I think that NU students are pretty open-minded. Again, like the racism component, I think that they compare favorably with just about any other state university.</p>

<p>If you have any other questions, just ask!</p>

5

<p>I have 2 degrees from UNL and am a life long resident of Nebraska. I've never been to a tractor pull and don't think I even know anyone who has. While agriculture is certainly a big industry in Nebraska, I never felt like I was at an agricultural school. Classes for most programs are on city campus near downtown Lincoln. Ag classes are on east campus (along with the law school and dental school). Nebraska is predominantly a conservative state but Lincoln and the University are more liberal. </p>

<p>Football is a big deal, not just on campus but throughout the state. There are students who don't go to the games but at least when I was there, attending games was very much the thing to do on Football Saturdays.</p>

6

<p>Gee, a student I worked with last year is a freshman at Nebraska. He hasn't mentioned anything to me about tractor pulls or too many cows. In fact, he seems pretty happy with his choice, and he's from a large urban area. </p>

<p>I think a lot of people from other parts of the country tend to view the midwest in general as some sort of hillbilly redneck mecca. My experience is quite the opposite: Folks in the Midwest tend to be pretty darn normal, mainstream people with all sorts of political views and lifestyles (even alternative ones!). They also seem to be pretty open-minded. And, here's a newsflash: The midwest is an increasingly diverse place these days racially as well. I wish more people would actually visit the midwest, instead of just flying overhead, because I think they'd be surprised to find it's not entirely filled with cows, tractors, and bible thumpers.</p>

<p>Of course, vast stretches are pretty flat... :)</p>

7

<p>hmmm ... H's family lives and works there, some on the faculty (yes, agriculture interestingly enough, but also the med school in Omaha), one a poli sci major sorority girl, and D was also heavily recruited by UNL. Nebraska is indeed a conservative state. That branch of the family are ALL Republicans, every single one, even the 21-year-old. Football is huge. It's a great place to go to school if you're a straight, white, church-going girl/guy who enjoys similar company.</p>

8

<p>We have family in Nebraska. UN-Lincoln is pretty liberal.</p>

9

<p>I think a student poster named Kinglin is at Nebraska. You could pm him for current information on the campus climate. I believe he is a business major.</p>

10

<p>All you need to know about U Neb:
<a href="http://huskerheadquarters.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=21%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://huskerheadquarters.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=21&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

11

<p>I live in Nebraska, and have a degree from UNL. Actually, there is quite a large hispanic community here. In fact, my daughter just got home from tutoring a young Spanish kindergartner who is an English language learner. In some of the smaller towns, Hispanics outnumber Caucasins. </p>

<p>In Lincoln, there is quite a large gay population.</p>

<p>I have never been to a tractor pull ... I don't even know what they pull ... each other?</p>

<p>Yes, football is HUGE!!!! If you allow yourself, it is really fun and the fans are really quite something to observe ... thousands and thousands and thousands of them.</p>

<p>I would be happy to answer more questions if they were a little more specific.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
I wish more people would actually visit the midwest

[/quote]

Ha ha. I actually went on vacation there once. I went through western Nebraska headed towards Mt Rushmore but enjoyed going along the Oregon trail, seeing the old wagon wheel ruts, seeing chimney rock, going to the fossil beds, visiting and staying at Fort Robinson, seeing a melodrama put on by College actors from Chadron (they were really good). I enjoyed it there.</p>

13

<p>Wow! Thanks for all the great responses! I feel more than a little sheepish now!</p>

<p>I realize now that I was guilty of the very same stereotype that I get annoyed with when people think all Texans are cowboys - totally NOT true! </p>

<p>At the same time, I am aware of how liberal (and weird) Austin is, right in the middle of Texas. Even here in SA there are some weird people (not as many as Austin, but they do exist.)</p>

<p>By weird I mean...you know, the occasional student with purple hair and tattoos...a smattering of Goths in the crowd...some metalheads....stuff like you see all over in Austin.</p>

<p>(speaking of which, I am shocked to hear the story of the racism in Austin - and really sorry to hear that. Just goes to show that even in a college known for its diversity you will find bigots, so it stands to reason that the reverse is true too, just about anywhere.)</p>

<p>My son is definitely not a church-going, conservative, mainstream, clean-cut guy. He is a very sharp dresser, but he has long hair and is a metalhead geek gamer (if you can picture that)...politically far left...hetero...peace activist, martial artist (no that's not an oxymoron), and...um...what else...definitely NOT into football. Oh, and he's a straightedge vegetarian.</p>

<p>I get it now that there are all types of people in Nebraska. I just wanted to make sure that he didn't totally stick out.</p>

<hr>

<p>Yes, he has gotten offers from OK and Arizona (I assume ASU is Arizona?) too - Arizona is too hot (he wants to get away from the Texas heat) but I admit we might have made the same erroneous assumptions about OK - especially after hearing this guy at work who is from OK tell me about it. He did his part to happily reinforce any stereotypes I might have had.</p>

<hr>

<p>Specific questions:</p>

<p>So, what do people do who are not into football or getting wasted? </p>

<p>Is it uncool to not go to the games?</p>

<p>Is there any political activism on campus? if so, more left or right?</p>

<p>Is there much of a music scene (metal)?</p>

<p>Do you see many Goths or metalheads (eyeliner, tattoos, black nail polish on both guys and girls - and no they're not necessarily gay - it is a metal fashion thing.)</p>

<p>Would a vegetarian find something to eat besides salads?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<hr>

<p>Thanks for the connections, too - I'll pm those guys.</p>

14

<p>My D's a vegetarian and she had trouble finding appealing food to eat at UCSD. Even though they claim to have vegetarian fare, some of it according to her is 'gross' since it's sitting out and some of it has too much oil, etc. in it. Vegetarians need to get creative in their eating and be willing to try more things than my D's willing to try. She's off-campus now and cooking her own food which is much better for her diet.</p>

15

<p>lealdragon:</p>

<p>I know precious little about Nebraska except that they have a very good program in actuarial science. However, I just stopped over in Lincoln a few months ago and found the town to be charming ... in a sort of Babbit type of way. That's not a putdown. It just reminded me of the kind of place that would have a lot of civic pride and maybe just a touch of hubris.</p>

<p>My take on state universities is that most of them are indistinguishable from each other. There are notable exceptions, including UVA, William and Mary, Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Rutgers, and some others that are escaping me right now. The publics that I named have distinctive cultures that are a bit outside the football/basketball/partying cultures you'll find most places. Other than that, I think one would be hard pressed to figure out where he is if suddenly transported to the University of New Mexico, University of Oklahoma, U of Missouri, of U of Nebraska.</p>

<p>This is not a bad thing. A free education is, in fact, a very GOOD thing.</p>

16

<p>Yes, I see people who dye their hair odd colors. My daughter (senior in high school) has a friend who has pink bangs -- I like it. Most of the gothics are in high school. When you write of metalheads, you mean people with piercings? Yes, see that all the time, although I find it VERY distasteful. Daughter has another friend who pierced her tongue last weekend. Also has a friend who dressed gothic at one time, black clothes, black nail polish, black lipstick, black hair ... the whole 9 yards. I tried to like her, really I did, but when she ended up at "alternative high school", I was neither surprised, nor sad. She doesn't dress like that any more.</p>

<p>What do people do when they're not at football games or getting wasted? Usually, those are not exclusive. My daughter likes to go out to eat, movies, hang out a friends homes. Also she studies a lot. </p>

<p>It's not uncool not to go to the games, but it is a lot of fun. So are the baseball games, especially later in the season as the weather warms up.</p>

<p>I can't say if the campus leans more left or right. There are young democrats and republican clubs. </p>

<p>I may be getting older, but I know that people with piercings and those who dress gothic are not gay. Let's continue in this stereotyping vein ... usually gay men are much better dressers than metalheads. :)</p>

<p>I am not a vegetarian; although I generally prefer vegetables to meat. I can always find meatless dishes at mexican and oriental restaurants. Also meatless pasta is very easy to find. Also every pizza place has a vegetarian pie.</p>

<p>My very favorite bar of all time is in Lincoln -- pretty much of a dive these days, but in the 80's it was waiting lines all weekend. They booked great R&B bands. D say music scene is huge in Omaha, lots of local bands and any kind of music you want.</p>

<p>I don't care what you say about Texas ... I know y'all are cowboys!!!</p>

17

<p>Recent grad (class of '05). It's getting late and I have class tomorrow morning, but I will put my 2 cents into this thread eventually.</p>

<p>Just will say that I had a fantastic 4 years in Lincoln (originally from KC), and my little brother is currently a frosh and seems to be loving it as well.</p>

<p>Also, the agricultural thing is way overblown - Lincoln is a city of 240,000 people. All the ag majors are on East Campus, and most people I know never had a single class over there (I can count the number of times I was on East Campus for any reason on one hand). It's really easy to stay on City Campus so long as you don't have an Ag major. From Business to Sociology to engineering to interior design most classes are on City campus...</p>

18

<p>And btw, every land grant school in the country, including Rutgers, VT, Clemson, and my own employer, the University of Wisconsin, will have a large Ag school. It goes with land grant status.</p>

19

<p>Here in the metropolitan New York area I have met graduates of U of Nebraska-Lincloln and have been very impressed. I also was acquainted with a former UNL administrator.</p>

<p>Academically, UNL is very solid and the variety of student interests that you will find at UNL may surprise you. By the way, neither of the alumni I met were involved in the agricultural field. One was in finance and the other was at the city desk at one of the major New York City newspapers.</p>

20

<p>Although it is not up on their scholarship page. Oklahoma State is giving $5,500 a year for four years, plus full tuition for five years for National Hispanic if they keep a 3.00 and carry 28 hours a year. However, OSU is an ag school, although I have been to one football game there, I have never attended or even heard of a tractor pull, yet we seem to find plenty to do to keep us busy.</p>