<p>Ballsy.</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>thats what you think, haha. everybody else thinks youre a d*uche ;)</p>
<p>Ha yes. They told me too. Free speech covers homophobia, but not Duke love.</p>
<p>^ There is no such thing as dook love on UNC’s campus…you’d be best off to remember that…and incidentally, it does run both ways and maybe even more so from their perspective.</p>
<p>I disagree. I’ve worn my UNC sweatshirt on their campus. Maybe it was an odd day or something, but I saw no such hate.</p>
<p>eadad,</p>
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<p>I don’t know if you’re talking about intercollegiate matches, or the varsity matches. But surely you remember that they were all taken with a bit more of a pinch of salt, and that of course (of course!) there would be nothing beyond a bit of teasing against someone who wore the opposing colours.</p>
<p>And you are wrong, by the way: I am US-born.</p>
<p>blue_box: I’m going to disagree with everyone else here. There is absolutely nothing wrong, I think with wearing Duke colours around campus. If everyone is so uptight and unable to laugh at themselves that they find it offensive, then they have a real problem. Are your egos really so fragile?</p>
<p>On the other hand, Americans often do have a hard time laughing at themselves, so it’s your call… but you will certainly find many friends at UNC Chapel Hill who wouldn’t object. There are lots of smart, cool people in Chapel Hill, though you may have to work a little to find them. It will get better!</p>
<p>And to those who suggest that Duke hates UNC more than vice versa, at least in my experience you are dreaming. From UNC’s side a lot of the Duke hatred is based in basketball, yes, but also in class, regional and some ethnic resentment. Duke has bigger fish to fry: there is rivalrly, but not the same degree of hatred. I often think that Duke is to UNC as UNC is to NC State … an embarrassingly one-sided hatred.</p>
<p>The tone of this discussion has really suprised me.</p>
<p>People go on and on about how UNC is diverse and open to all perspectives. blue_box is an international student from a culture where all this ‘school spirit’ would be considered a bit silly, and he expresses that by iconoclastically wearing a rival college’s outfit. Is UNC really so fragile that this mundane act of subversion is ‘douch3y’ and likely to make him enemies.</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>I am a Carolina student but I have been extremely acquainted with Duke for many years as well, so I have been able to see both sides of the spectrum. I do not want to waste my energy typing out a full-length post for the die-hard and stubborn Tarheels, so I will simply say that keepittoyourself, I have to agree with everything you have said. I couldn’t have said it better myself.</p>
<p>Sorry, but UNC is not like NC State in relation to the Duke rivalry. First of all, UNC is better than Duke and more accomplished in football and basketball. Secondly, the UNC v Duke rivalry is one of the best rivalries in all of sports. UNC doesn’t consider State to be a rival, while Duke certainly considers UNC to be a rival.</p>
<p>I’d also like to add, keepittoyourself seems to have no knowledge of sports whatsoever. I’d take anything this person says with a large grain of salt</p>
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<p>So?</p>
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<p>IMO keepittoyourself’s posts on this thread are more logical and thorough than yours. In fact, the three posters I follow the most on the UNC forum are eadad, jambaby, and keepittoyourself. The quality of their posts is really very good, compared to the nugget of wisdom you provided:</p>
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<p>Way to miss the point.</p>
<p>I find it ridiculous to expect that just because someone goes to one school, that person has to boycott wearing all other schools’ apparel. I heard a girl say to her friend, “I saw a guy wearing a Georgia Tech shirt today… I mean are you serious?! You go to UNC!” and I was so annoyed by it. What are the odds that every student here was “born and bred” a Tarheel? I certainly wasn’t. I think if you switch favorite teams just because you go off to college it makes you something like a bandwagon fan. It’s like fake school spirit at first. I have always been an NC State fan, and I’m going to wear my State shirts whenever I feel like it, because they make me feel more proud than my Carolina blue shirts do. </p>
<p>In other news, I am a new freshie from a teeny tiny high school, and while I would like to go to events held by student organizations, the huge masses of people who I assume will be there totally turn me off. I’m tired of small talk and being surrounded by people my own age. If there was a group that held events with ten people attending each, I’d join that group. since there aren’t, I’ve been pretty bored/unhappy so far, and I’m going home for the second weekend.</p>
<p>I really just guess I’m having a completely different freshman experience than everyone else on this forum. I love the atmosphere, the Carolina Blue, the independence, and the large masses of people. I have only returned home once even though I live close by, and I feel great just sitting on the steps of Wilson watching people walk to class. I am really disappointed that everyone isn’t enjoying themselves as well, but I think an open-minded and patient attitude with just a little bit of school spirit goes a heck of a long way towards enjoying oneself. I got a letter a couple of weeks ago inviting me to apply to be an Admissions Ambassador, and I hope I get the opportunity to show Carolina off to tons of high school students so that they can have the same experience as me. Good luck to the rest of my fellow freshmen; I know that your luck will soon change!</p>
<p>Yeah. Sometimes kids come on tours and get upset if they see students wearing Harvard shirts. Once a girl asked if we wore those shirts because we felt bad we couldn’t get in (people ask some forward questions on tours). Usually people just wear shirts of other schools they got into. I wear Dartmouth shirts from time to time because my brother went to school there - I don’t think it’s hating on Carolina at all, nor do I think it’s snotty. Duke is a special case because by wearing a Duke shirt you are, whether you like it or not, making a political statement. The rivalry does exist and pretending like it doesn’t is silly. To wear it spitefully is kind of a weird idea, especially since you’re a first year. You might want to think about transferring if you’re that unhappy here. You choose to come and be educated here, and if you don’t like it, feel free to leave. No one’s making you stay.</p>
<p>Drinking stupidly is definitely a first year thing. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to drink, stay away at all costs from the panhellenic fraternity/sorority scene. There are no exceptions to this. Rushing is the worst thing you could do if you want to make friends who don’t drink.</p>
<p>There are a billion things to do that aren’t drinking, and first years seem to think that it’s a journey to venture into Carrboro or onto Frankling to have fun. I’m serious. They wake up at 1:30 PM and slowly make their way around campus all day, then go out at night. It’s not the way to seize the day. The eight billion clubs we have on campus will keep you active, and the parties are not all about drinking. I wasn’t very happy at Carolina my first year because it was hard for me to escape the frat world - all the girls on my floor thought that was the only way to socialize. I had to be up front about the fact that I was never going to those parties again and just start making plans with people not interested in the scene.</p>
<p>Don’t fall victim to thinking the entire campus is one way merely because you’ve been exposed to one section of it. A certain crowd dines in Lenoir every night, a certain crowd is in the gym all the time, a certain crowd is always in the UL, and certain people party hard. If you don’t try other things then you can be living under the illusion that Carolina is a campus of 1,000 stupid people, or 1,000 insanely active people. There are social circles that you will find, for now your brain’s just trying to figure out what in the world’s going on. For instance, there’s a lot of overlap in all the musical groups (WXYC, Vinyl Records, music majors, Pauper Players, people who live in Carrboro, etc) to where you could actually think this campus has 100 people in it. It’s kind of beautiful in a way.</p>
<p>If you want to find things you hate at Carolina, you can, and if you’re a jerk about the school, why would people waste their time with you when they could hang out with more positive people? A lot of people were very excited to come here - they’ve wanted to all their lives. If you want to find things you love at Carolina, you can find that, too. I’m the first person to say that I never cared AT ALL about Carolina growing up. I actively wanted not to come here. My middle brother ended up coming and when I visited him I was surprised at how beautiful it was. Turns out Eve Carson was one of his friends and meeting her while I was in high school made me think, okay, this school is pretty incredible. I won’t lie, there are plenty of people here who will disappoint you. But really, I’ve yet to be in a group project with stupid people (even in classes with football players), and I am always pleasantly surprised with all the good things going on.</p>
<p>Be involved and question how you spend your time - it’s easy to waste it. Good luck to everybody.</p>
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<p>Wow. Why does wearing a Duke shirt have to be ‘spiteful’? Why can’t it be ‘playful’ or ‘subversive’? And honestly, if your response to an international student who is having trouble fitting in a few weeks into freshman year is “if you don’t like it, feel free to leave” then you have problems. Ever heard of culture shock? We’re not talking about someone who’s been here 2 years and just can’t make it work… this is someone who is surprised at, and uncomfortable with, certain aspects of live at UNC Chapel Hill (aspects which I also happen to think are a bit ridiculous). </p>
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<p>I actually agree with this. When I started college (somewhere rather more academically ‘serious-minded’ than Chapel Hill) I also worried that there seemed to be no non-heavy drinking social events. Drinkers are just the most visible- it does take time to find your niche. On the other hand, things to do in Chapel Hill/Carrboro are very heavily biased towards eating and drinking.</p>
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<p>This can be difficult advice for someone from a different culture. Thankfully, the ‘positive thinking’ nonsense hasn’t spread much beyond the USA. It is possible to enjoy a place and be glad you went, whilst also thinking “it’s not perfect, and I have complaints, but on balance UNC Chapel Hill is a good deal”. You can think all that whilst thinking the ‘D00k’ hate is ridiculous, and wanting to have a bit of fun by wearing their colours.</p>
<p>I have worn my UNC stuff at Duke, and not gotten any bad vibes, except for the odd smirk.</p>
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<p>Good advice. Applies everywhere.</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>I understand what you’re saying to what I first said, keepittoyourself, but I wasn’t saying that if you’re having trouble fitting in then you must leave. I was basically saying if you absolutely hate this place, you are sickened by the Carolina blue and people’s enthusiasm, then maybe it really isn’t the right place for you, and no one’s making you stay. </p>
<p>I would absolutely never imply that people have to be constantly positive to make friends or that you should misrepresent how you’re feeling to make friends. I would never, ever say Carolina is perfect or that everyone must love going to school here. But when you’re making first impressions on people, being unnecessarily negative isn’t a way to make friends.</p>
<p>Fine, you could say wearing a Duke shirt is being playful or subversive, but that’s not how it’s going to perceived. I know you didn’t say this but I do want to clarify that I don’t mean wearing Duke blue, just wearing a Duke shirt. There are a billion other shirts that someone could wear if they don’t like Carolina blue, and by wearing a Duke shirt you’re being intentionally ‘controversial’ blah blah blah unless you have some vested interest there. I’m not telling anyone they can’t wear it, obviously, but you should recognize how people will perceive you, and it’s not wrong to point that out.</p>
<p>And in reading over this post, someone mentioned something about how their First Amendment rights are being infringed upon because people dislike them when they wear Duke shirts. That is stupid, hopefully for obvious reasons. Just as you have the right to wear your Duke shirt, people can choose not to be friends with you because of whatever you do. Liking the color green. Being from Britain. Whatever. I GUESS you could somehow make an argument that when people wear Duke shirts their professors give them lower grades, and because we’re at a public school then maybe there’s something there… but that’s a long shot and I’m pretty sure not what was being implied. Have bad manners at a dinner party and be prepared not to be invited back. Wear a Duke shirt at Carolina and be ready for weird looks. It’s how it works, and it’s certainly not illegal just because you don’t like it.</p>
<p>I think I might have posted already on this thread. I just wanted to say that I think the original poster may be having a bit more problems with college in general rather than college in specific (UNC-CH, in other words). Duke has some of the same problems described. There is a large amount of people who like to drink, etc., as well. Trust me–I’m a sophomore at Duke, from NC, who considered UNC-CH.</p>
<p>However, I do think people are being a little too mean to the OP. He has some accurate observations. And I also think, after living in NC for 19 years (my whole life), that the hatred against Duke on the UNC-CH side is a little more intense than the hatred we have for you guys. No one really makes reasons to hate UNC here at Duke. At UNC I feel like they have reasons to hate us (some of them wrong, like the idea that we are all white when our freshman class is only 51 percent white…)</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s my vibe. But I think the OP is just getting used to college. You’ll like it soon, man. Trust me! :)</p>
<p>PM me if you want any help getting used to college in general. UNC is a great place and I know a lot about it since I spend time there with friends; I can suggest some stuff over there and at Duke if you ever feel like taking the Robertson bus over.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>^ Though a lot of the anti-Duke hatred makes fun of the fact that there are so many Asians at Duke.</p>
<p>Check out the UNCCH college acb site … though of course that represents only a tiny minority of UNCCH students (as does collegeconfidential).</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>Haha, that is true too.</p>
<p>I disagree about rushing/sororities and drinking. In mine, there is zero pressure to drink and some of the girls don’t. Granted, if you don’t like going to mixers or parties (even if you’re sober) then it might not be for you. I’m totally not a partier and I like my sorority.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, in my D’s sorority drinking or the lack of drinking appears to be an issue. She went to her first mixer with an open mind knowing some will choose to drink some will not to drink but would take the opportunity to mix and mingle. However, she was questioned mutliple times on why she did not drink alcohol and mocked by several of her so called sisters. She is giving it time knowing/hoping not all will behave this way. Mixers are not mandatory so she will probably only venture to a few. She is very interested in the philanthropy aspect and will focus her time on those events.</p>
<p>Overall, she just does not love UNC-CH. I can’t change that. Hopefully, it will grow on her. I do believe it was a mistake for her to select a school without a true dance program. She is meeting with her advisor this week and will seek advice on her current major as well as the process to transfer if she goes that route.</p>
<p>We are all quite surprised at how difficult the transition to college would be for her. Every road has it’s twists and turns, hopefully, she gets to the straight-a-away soon.</p>