<p>WIS75--we are micromanaged by the State. It costs us time and money. Of course we are also being micromanaged by the Feds but at least they are paying for the privilege.</p>
<p>Barrons has lost his right to complain about this state as he is not living here and has no stake in it. I have lived in the Madison area and now am in the other 90+% of it- I can see your point of view tsdad, but I also know where the rest of the people are coming from. They do not usually understand how higher education works and know they are paying high state taxes, therefore wanting to control how their money is spent. It does not matter to the average state resident that most of the funding is from elsewhere, they feel ownership of their school. If you can find a way to educate the people to lessen their control for better ways of achieving the goals, please do it! </p>
<p>How about a corollary- since outside interests, ie foreign, own significant portions of the US, do they have the right to direct US policies? Not everyone is driven by the business model. Fortunately there is life outside of it for those of us who dislike it. The university is much, much more than the business school. </p>
<p>BTW, students, I think we have hijacked your thread here, sorry. We are showing you some of the diversity that makes up your future school. Passionate people, even long after graduation, the sifting and winnowing still occurs. UW is many things to many people, one reason that where to live is an issue. Let us know what you decide for living arrangements, volleysnap.</p>
<p>Yes indeed Wis 75 we pay enormously high taxes here, but the UW System (not UW-Madison) is only fourth in line for state money. First are elementary and secondary schools. Second is Medicaid and related medical expenditures. Third are the prisons. Fourth is the UW System.</p>
<p>If you think big investors in the US don't have a say in US policies, you don't know much about what all those lobbyists on K Street are doing right now. </p>
<p>And as an alumnus member of the Bascom Hill Society I think I have every right to comment on the things that impact the UW. I probably donate more per year than the average Wisconsin taxpayer pays toward the support of the UW.</p>
<p>wis75- after all that, I decided to send in my deposit at Lucky :) I think I made the right choice though. It is looking more and more like i will be going to Madison next year too.</p>
<p>I may have an interesting perspective having been at UW in the '70s and having a daughter on campus now. While I was born in Wisconsin I spent the ten years preceding college living near Philadelphia. I always considered myself more of a Wisconsin person and in college had more Wisconsin friends. Many of the East Coast kids, often from New York, came to campus with attitudes like "there is no place like NYC; Madison is a hick town." They tended to hang out with "their own." Fast forward to campus today and they tend to live in private campus housing which is more expensive and allows them to hang out with "their own." These kids often come from families with more money which in itself is not bad, but also from private schools and neighborhoods where status was important. The typical Wisconsinite is more down-to-earth and humble even if his family has money. It is something about the character of the people from Wisconsin, they don't need to prove things to others...the Coasties often feel this need. Ironically I live on the West Coast and I am proud to say my daughter lives in the dorms and has more Midwest friends because she was raised to respect people for their character and not their parent's net worth.</p>
<p>^ Well said. Coasties are really classless with their money.</p>
<p>What an absurd generalization.</p>
<p>Not at all- those from the coast who choose to mingle are not labeled coasties, the term is meant for a subset of people from an area. The truly classy people do not need to separate from the rest of the students.</p>
<p>Good post CDOne. Back in the early '70s I never knew the off campus dorms existed while I knew nice people from the East coast who had money.</p>
<p>Wis75, I'm curious to know if you have ever lived outside of Wisconsin for any length of time... or at all?</p>
<p>"Back in the early '70s I never knew the off campus dorms existed.."</p>
<p>I find that hard to believe.</p>
<p>"These kids often come from families with more money which in itself is not bad, but also from private schools and neighborhoods where status was important. The typical Wisconsinite is more down-to-earth and humble even if his family has money. It is something about the character of the people from Wisconsin, they don't need to prove things to others...the Coasties often feel this need."</p>
<p>Good observation.</p>
<p>I've encountered this phenomenon at my son's private midwest college which is full of "coasties". I had no preconceived notions about people from either coast and was happy that my son was attending a place with such a wide geographic diversity - we wanted him to experience life outside the midwest. It was quite a learning experience for both of us and the topic of many discussions since he always had a roommate from one coast or the other. </p>
<p>When I visited Madison with my daughter last week, the journalism prof we met with asked us if we had heard of "coasties". He explained that historically many of the west and east coast students that attended Madison were looking for schools with great sports team/school spirit combined with top notch academics. "Coasties" seems to be an accepted term and isn't particularly seen as disparaging. The in state kids are called "Sconnies". How about the reciprocity kids from minnesota?
Maybe the "Sohtaahns" ( pronounced with that lovely Fargo accent)</p>
<p>hehe my favorite term i have heard to describe us minnesotans (not by Wisc students though) is "minnonites"
and luckily i do not have a terrible fargo accent, although i do find those pretty endearing ;)</p>
<p>What an entertaining thread! I had not heard of the term "coastie" before. I would have thought that most of the in-staters reserved their scorn for all the Chicagoans descending upon them en masse, or should I say flatlanders?<br>
volleysnap -- It looks like your decision is made. I'm sure you'll do great. One thing about rooming with friends -- one way to look at it is if you don't room with your friend, you automatically have a connection to one other person on campus and THEIR roommate. A potential for a wider circle right from the start.</p>
<p>I agree dbwes-I came to the conclusion that no matter what I will have people to "fall back" on if I end up not getting along with my roommates. There are about 30 people going from my school this year, about ten of whom I am good friends with. I also plan to get involved right away in several activities where I know I will immediately meet people who I share interests with. I was also very specific in my roommate matching questionnaire for lucky, so i am feeling pretty good about my choice. I can hardly wait to move in!!</p>
<p>Barrons- the expensive dorms were off the radar for most of us and maybe those people never took my honors/science classes. Ella's Deli/eating deli food is not exactly healthy/high class dining or comfort food- went to the original one once with my mom while in HS when it first opened, not worth a second trip. My point is that everyone has different experiences, the vastness and diversity of the university insures that many diverse people can enjoy it, for many different reasons. You and I touched different parts of that blind men's elephant...</p>
<p>Yes but anyone with a pulse walking down State Street can't help but see the big Towers sign. It's like saying you never heard of the Capitol or the KK. I just don't believe anyone who spent four years there never heard of the Towers no matter where they were from or who they knew. And deli food certainly is comfort food to many of us. The beauty of a good deli is it's lack of class pretensions. Just good inexpensive food in comforable surroundings.</p>
<p>No it isn't- some of us did not spend that much time on State St, nor did we pay attention to the upper floors. There may not have even been the same sign in my day. I do remember the old KK, it moved to make room for the Memorial Library addition, as did the old University Bookstore. The KK lost its beer bar charm when it upgraded with the then new 18 year old liquor laws, I went there sometimes with freshman dorm friends, but disliked beer. State street was open to traffic then, Brown's Bookstore on a corner, was the alternative to University bookstore and Paisons for good pizza was in its old location (old by my standards, not a few years older neighbor's who remembered it from a prior location) before moving to the site now occupied by the Lucky building. The current Ellas is on East Washington Ave, doesn't look appealing as I drive by on my trips to campus. Comfort food is defined by one's roots. As is everyone you are a contradictory mix, Barrons, you spoke of cocktails versus beer and now a lack of class pretensions. Of course you must know the paths out to Picnic Point, EVERYONE knows those... While we're travelling down memory lane we must also remember that the physical university is constantly evolving- current students are seeing new buildings going up and voted to replace the then new Union South (another architectural disaster)... One tower of Witte was reserved for graduate students in my day, students weren't looking for off campus dorms in general, we never received glossy brochures from the private dorms like my son did. And Minnesota had no reciprocity with Wisconsin so we didn't cross the border like so many students do now. Juniors told me how the football team won its first game in 3 years when they were freshmen.</p>
<p>So, future students, even if your parents went to UW Madison it will be a different campus (Social Science was woods in my mother's day, that's why the carillon stands in front of it), yet with many of the same traditions. Remember to explore all ends of campus when you are there.</p>
<p>Referring back to the original question about "coasties":</p>
<p>I am a freshman at the UW currently. I am from Connecticut. I live in a University Dorm. I would say that MOST people from East (NY, NJ, DC, etc.) and West (LA, etc.) live in private dorms such as Towers, Statesider, etc. There is definitely a division between "coasties" and "sconnies", although I kindof defy that because most of my new friends in school are from Wisconsin or Minnesota. </p>
<p>That being said, you can be happy in either school or the private dorms. If you'd rather live in a more upscale setting, with wealthier people, than private dorms are for you. If you'd like to live with a diverse group of people (aka economically and ethnically), then live in school-owned dorms. </p>
<p>Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a country kid that I preferred my current dorm. I'm not a hustle-and-bustle city kid. </p>
<p>Anyways, hope that helps.</p>
<p>Another thing- I grew up for 18 years with many people you might consider "coasties". And I loved them. Some of my best friends from back home are the type of people who you might be referring to. And just because I came to the UW or chose to live in the dorms is not because I wanted to get away from those types of people in any way. </p>
<p>Just wanted to make that clear :)</p>