Just something I wrote for UP Aguman's CEER 2009. Target readers were high school seniors. ;D
College is an important chapter in your life. Academically and socially, it will have the most impact on how you will fare for the rest of your life. In terms of academics, it’s a given what role the university you will choose to attend will play – it will teach and train you to be the best of whatever it is that you want to be. But here’s another thought to ponder – a university’s social environment will also most likely affect how you will succeed in your academics and what kind of person you will become.
College is an important chapter in your life. Academically and socially, it will have the most impact on how you will fare for the rest of your life. In terms of academics, it’s a given what role the university you will choose to attend will play – it will teach and train you to be the best of whatever it is that you want to be. But here’s another thought to ponder – a university’s social environment will also most likely affect how you will succeed in your academics and what kind of person you will become.
The universities are like people too in the same sense that they have different personalities that’s definitely imprinted into the characters of its graduates. A university molds its students into a certain something – a kind of individual that is professional and competent, someone that will be in demand in the industry, here and abroad. This is what sets them apart from the others. And often, in an amusing way, this it was pits them against each other! Hehe!
Once you step in college, you will realize that people take college rivalry more seriously than high school. I mean, in high school, kids usually just fight on who’s the ‘coolest’ and often the criterion for such is whoever dresses the hippest and whoever hangs out at the most posh of places. But in college, it is serious business – you have to be the best! And no, we’re not just talking about basketball here!
There are many kinds of rivalries among universities. Here’s a quick lowdown on the most common and fiercest battles in the collegiate scene.
Academic Rivalry. Now this is the most important rivalry of all. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to be touted as the best! Any university or college will tell you that they can provide you the best education and training. But alas, most industry leaders and corporate executives will tell you that in the Philippines, UP, Ateneo and La Salle are the most respected if not the best universities in the country. Of course there many others that are just as reputable, many of them are even based in the provinces. More so, each school has its own set of specialty programs. This simply means that any given university is particularly formidable and popular (rightly so) in certain fields.
Sports Rivalry. College sports is probably the non-academic activity that most students love to engage in. After all, recreational activities like sports is what helps students de-stress from all the hassles of academic life. If you’ve always been interested in sports, then for sure, you’re no stranger to the culture of collegiate sports, like the UAAP. It enjoys the most media coverage and hype, considering the fierce rivalries of its members schools – Ateneo and La Salle in men’s basketball; UP and UST in cheerdance.
Social Rivalry. Now this is one aspect of college life that can be a little hard to comprehend or understand and yet it has the more pronounced effect on people. After all, school pride is something that you cannot really define or measure – it’s either you feel it or you don’t. Aside from the academic and extra-curricular achievements of a school, its social status or reputation is something that its officials and students take seriously to heart. Forget the popular text jokes that take a dig on Manny Pacquiao or Aling Dionesia for a while. To college students, there are a set of hilarious college jokes that are common knowledge to them. These jokes have only one goal – to glorify one’s own Alma Mater, and ridicule the rest of them. Some take a dig on a school’s campus or facilities, some on the kind of students that usually enroll in it. Now, we won’t share any of them jokes here, it’s up to you to discover come college! Here’s a wise tip though: never take them seriously.
School pride is something that naturally thrives in the university environment. It plays a bigger role than anyone realizes. It contributes in the maintenance and improvement of all the aspects of the academe. It allows its community to believe in something that is bigger than itself. It is what drives them to strive for nothing but excellence in whatever endeavor they venture into – be it in academics or in other facets of college life.
School pride is not something that can be taught by the professors or officials. It’s just a feeling deep down inside each member of that academic community. So the next time you engage in a passive-aggressive Olympics with your friends on whose university is the best, be ready to agree to disagree. I mean, after all, you gotta love your own, right?
Having said all these, know that in the end, your university training can only take you so far, as essential as it may be. Your success in whatever path you choose will depend ultimately on you. Whatever your course maybe, wherever you may take it, take advantage of every opportunity to learn that comes your way. Take in as much as you can. Never cease to learn new things, even outside the four walls of the classroom. After all, once you finish college, you move on to an even bigger and more challenging school in which pride in oneself will trump anything else – the school of life.
There are many kinds of rivalries among universities. Here’s a quick lowdown on the most common and fiercest battles in the collegiate scene.
Academic Rivalry. Now this is the most important rivalry of all. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to be touted as the best! Any university or college will tell you that they can provide you the best education and training. But alas, most industry leaders and corporate executives will tell you that in the Philippines, UP, Ateneo and La Salle are the most respected if not the best universities in the country. Of course there many others that are just as reputable, many of them are even based in the provinces. More so, each school has its own set of specialty programs. This simply means that any given university is particularly formidable and popular (rightly so) in certain fields.
Sports Rivalry. College sports is probably the non-academic activity that most students love to engage in. After all, recreational activities like sports is what helps students de-stress from all the hassles of academic life. If you’ve always been interested in sports, then for sure, you’re no stranger to the culture of collegiate sports, like the UAAP. It enjoys the most media coverage and hype, considering the fierce rivalries of its members schools – Ateneo and La Salle in men’s basketball; UP and UST in cheerdance.
Social Rivalry. Now this is one aspect of college life that can be a little hard to comprehend or understand and yet it has the more pronounced effect on people. After all, school pride is something that you cannot really define or measure – it’s either you feel it or you don’t. Aside from the academic and extra-curricular achievements of a school, its social status or reputation is something that its officials and students take seriously to heart. Forget the popular text jokes that take a dig on Manny Pacquiao or Aling Dionesia for a while. To college students, there are a set of hilarious college jokes that are common knowledge to them. These jokes have only one goal – to glorify one’s own Alma Mater, and ridicule the rest of them. Some take a dig on a school’s campus or facilities, some on the kind of students that usually enroll in it. Now, we won’t share any of them jokes here, it’s up to you to discover come college! Here’s a wise tip though: never take them seriously.
School pride is something that naturally thrives in the university environment. It plays a bigger role than anyone realizes. It contributes in the maintenance and improvement of all the aspects of the academe. It allows its community to believe in something that is bigger than itself. It is what drives them to strive for nothing but excellence in whatever endeavor they venture into – be it in academics or in other facets of college life.
School pride is not something that can be taught by the professors or officials. It’s just a feeling deep down inside each member of that academic community. So the next time you engage in a passive-aggressive Olympics with your friends on whose university is the best, be ready to agree to disagree. I mean, after all, you gotta love your own, right?
Having said all these, know that in the end, your university training can only take you so far, as essential as it may be. Your success in whatever path you choose will depend ultimately on you. Whatever your course maybe, wherever you may take it, take advantage of every opportunity to learn that comes your way. Take in as much as you can. Never cease to learn new things, even outside the four walls of the classroom. After all, once you finish college, you move on to an even bigger and more challenging school in which pride in oneself will trump anything else – the school of life.
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