<p>Auburn, UNC is not super diverse but they certainly aren’t all white either. Remember that the majority of America is still white, so college campuses reflect that. And there is nothing wrong with white people. They are not all the same or something, just like black people or latino people aren’t all the same. LOL.</p>
<p>Branch out. Follow EAdad’s advice. It is good advice. Seeing people as individuals rather than groups is one of the most valuable things one can do.</p>
<p>Did you not visit Carolina before you accepted admission? It should have been instantly noticeable to you then. The ridiculously vast amount of Carolina blue is actually one of the reasons I fell in love with the school in the first place. It shows how much love and pride the student body has for the school, and that was number one on my list of desirable traits in a college. To reiterate what Cuse5057 said, do you ever get tired of looking at the sky? :D</p>
<p>I find all the childish devotion a bit easier to understand when I remember that North Carolina is the size of a small country, and is like a country in many ways. UNC chapel Hill is the ‘national university’ of that country.</p>
<p>People feel about UNC/carolina blue etc the way people in many other countries feel about national symbols and anthems or sports teams etc. I don’t know how you feel about symbols of Indian nationalism, but the reaction I have had from some UNC people when being critical of the place is not dissimilar to how I’d imagine most Indians would react if I told them things were better off under the Raj :p</p>
<p>And as for carolina blue … well, a lot of people (Americans more than most) get very devoted to natonal symbols like flags.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your disappointment with Carolina blue. My D is struggling with her choice as well. As a parent, it has been a tough 2 weeks of listening and trying to talk her through the struggles. The biggest disappointment for her is the amount of drinking and partying. She does not drink and has no tolerance for those who over-imbibe. We just encourage her to work to find others with her interests. She did decide to go through Rush and has enjoyed meeting other girls and learning about their involvement in community service. However, she just realized that the mixers/socials would most likely include alcohol so she is reconsidering her thoughts on choosing a sorority. I tried to explain to her that not all the people at the socials drink or drink to get drunk. I guess I was not as forthcoming as to what to expect on campus. I graduated from WVU so the partying seems consistent and what I expected even for the over-hyped UNC-CH. Apparently, she wasnt expecting it. In her own words No offense Mom, I expected more from UNC-CH than WVU as far as students that respect themselves and others. Why would you work to get into a so-called great school only to get here and act like drunken idiots? </p>
<p>I hope my D finds her way and learns to enjoy Carolina. I hope the same for you.</p>
<p>Thank you, NCDanceMom and keepittoyourself. The amount of Carolina blue is just one of the things I dislike about UNC, its just the only one I could put into words.
NCDanceMom: Your daughter is correct about the amount of partying, and in most cases, about the drinking too. From my very limited experience, most people here drink to get drunk. There is a LOT of partying, but I expected that, so I was mentally prepared for it.
Having said that, its easy to find people who don’t party. Though maybe thats just a guy thing.
Keepittoyourself: I occasionally walk through campus wearing a Duke shirt. The color is a refreshing change. I wore UNC stuff on the Duke campus too, and they don’t get as riled up as UNC people.</p>
<p>NCDanceMom - I think I’m kind of like your daughter in a way that I do not drink & I definitely don’t enjoy being around people who just drink to get drunk (which there is obviously no shortage of here). But, my mom went to UNC, so I was prepared for it, and I have not found it hard to find friends who don’t drink either, and it really hasn’t been a problem for me either. I can see where going a sorority might put her around people like that, but I think she will eventually find friends who are like her! There are definitely some here.</p>
<p>I think the key at UNC is to just keep putting yourself out there until you find your “niche”. My child is there now and loves it, but I believe it is because he immediately threw himself into a variety of activities (including rush) in order to find his comfort zone amidst such a large student body. In terms of drinking, I will say that two freshman boys who is he is very friendly with do not drink at all, and I’m sure they’re not the only ones. My other son is at a highly ranked liberal arts college in upstate New York, and I believe there is far more drinking happening at that school, partly because there’s not much else to do! This is the most difficult time for freshman adjustment, wherever they are. Give them encouragement and let them know it takes time to feel at home. Good luck!</p>
<p>As a senior, I can safely say the only time I felt like the drinking/partying thing was out of hand was as a freshman. It’s 100% a freshman thing. I promise.</p>
<p>When I moved into Hinton James as a freshman, it seemed like the only thing people wanted to do was go to the mysterious Frat Court (it was mysterious then, anyway) and drink. How is that fun? In the days before classes started, it got really frustrating to watch people do things because they felt like they should be doing them. It was upsetting to feel pressured to be out drinking, etc. I think a lot of freshmen feel like they have to go to a frat party and get drunk and have the college experience. This doesn’t apply to everyone obviously, but it definitely applies to some.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give is to “rise above.” Don’t do things you don’t feel like doing even if it seems like everyone else is. Stick to your guns. Start going to club meetings and events and make friends in your classes. You have to keep busy and find your niche.</p>
<p>After first semester freshman year, the frat court/alcohol thing seemed so incredibly lame that it was a non-issue for me and has been to this day. None of my friends even come close to being crazy drunk party people. Once you escape the freshman scene, I PROMISE it isn’t an issue. The differences between freshman year and my other years here are black and white. Freshman year feels like it happened on another planet!</p>
<p>Rush is another animal entirely, so I can definitely understand why the alcohol/party presence might be stronger there. Just be prepared for it.</p>
<p>Hope everybody is hanging in there. I’m getting the vibe that the first two weeks have been a bit rough… Things will get better!</p>
<p>Tell your daughter to give it some time, get involved in clubs/activities that interest her, and she will find like minded friends. The non drinkers ARE out there. My neighbors’ daughter just started her sophomore year at UNC-CH and has met many friends some who drink and some who don’t, but all of whom are bright, curious, thoughtful. She really enjoys the intellectual discussions that always seem to crop up just hanging out together. Also, you mentioned WVU - my son is a freshman at WVU (he’s been there 2 1/2 weeks) and believe it or not hasn’t seen a drop of alcohol yet. He’s been very busy with schoolwork and other activities and has met many guys in his dorm who don’t party. (At least not yet My son is in the engineering dorm, so that could be why, but the point is not all college students party, not even at WVU.</p>
<p>I have not encountered any examples of excessive drinking in my first couple of weeks. On such a big campus, though, she probably needs to give it some time. Friends will fall into place over time if she looks in the right places.</p>
<p>Some dorms are far more “social” than others. Add to that the novelty of being and on one’s own for the first time and you get a big party scene in the first few weeks away of school at many schools, not just UNC.</p>
<p>As jambaby said, it does slow down especially when the reality of schoolwork, tests, papers and deadlines starts to sink in. There are plenty of activities for non drinkers, in fact probably more for them than drinkers…you just need to look for them because they aren’t often as well publicized.</p>
<p>blue_box</p>
<p>From reading your other posts I am guessing that you are an international student. I would think that it could seem different and perhaps off putting to someone like you to be at a school that has a very healthy mix of academics and athletics and especially to be immersed in a school with such school spirit and pride…listen to the words of the school fight song and you’ll start to get what I mean.</p>
<p>I would be careful about disparaging Carolina blue however or you will really get yourself off on the wrong foot. The love for all things Carolina blue runs very deep and saying what you said about Duke (dook to UNC fans) blue is sure not to make you many friends. I know it sounds childish but you need to try understand the long, deep seeded rivalries which are akin to those like Ohio State v Michigan, Texas v Oklahoma or Texas A&M etc…they exist everywhere in the US and are a very proud and important part of the culture and heritage of these fine schools.</p>
<p>You need to think about and compare it to the culture of the fans of the football (soccer to us here) teams in the UK where fans of Arsenal for example are also very proud to display their colors and team spirit and are far more fanatical about it than most fans here in the US…we also have professional sports teams and there are certainly very passionate fans for most of those teams but the real passion tends to be associated with our schools because it is lived all day, every day while you are there. Again this isn’t very different than the rugby, football and rowing rivalries at Oxford, Eton, Cambridge etc, or the school ties and scarfs proudly worn by each school’s students in the UK.</p>
<p>As much as I agree with much of your post, you are really showing off some ignorance here. First, Eton is a high school. (You may know this, in which case sorry for thinking badly of you).</p>
<p>Second, outside those personally involved with the sports (a tiny minority) nobody cares about Oxford vs Cambridge boat, rugby or football races. Cambridge (light) blue is very much like Carolina blue. But anyone who even thought aloud ‘God must have gone to Cambridge, because the sky is light blue’ would be laughed out of town.</p>
<p>Sorry, but that’s just stupid. You go to Carolina. You don’t go to Duke. I’m not saying that you need to hate Duke, but wearing a Duke shirt as a Carolina student is only something that should happen when you lose a serious bet. Why not just wear a dark blue shirt instead?</p>
<p>^
First, I really DO know what Eton is…second, I attended Oxford many years ago and at least when I was there, the boat races, football and rugby matches WERE a big deal as were the school colors proudly worn. One thing I don’t do on these boards is make things up or knowingly exaggerate.</p>
<p>Dallas Cowboy fans for years said the reason that there was a hole in the roof of Texas stadium was so that God could watch HIS team play on Sundays…I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt since I know you are not US born but there is such as thing as a friendly bit of hyperbole when it comes to team sports in the US…and it often manifests itself in quotes like the one you mocked above…no one takes it seriously but it makes them feel better and shows their pride in both school and teams…</p>
My son is in the engineering dorm, so that could be why, but the point is not all college students party, not even at WVU.</p>