Thinking outside the Princeton bubble

We've all heard about the Princeton bubble, but Nov. 2 showed us once again the distance between the ivy enclave we inhabit and the rest of America. Many Princeton students went to bed on election night in disbelief and woke up despondent. After blossoming deficits and declining jobs, possible misleading of the public and a bloody foreign war, how could the incumbent have been reelected? Everyone knew which way Princeton would side, but the choice of the rest of America seems to have left some dumbstruck. Have we become so out of touch in our pursuit of knowledge that we no longer recognize that the rest if the country doesn't mirror the world of Princetonians? If so, Thanksgiving break represents the first chance since the election to step outside the bubble to reacquaint oneself with the greater part of America.

Here are some of my observations.

Americans don't sound like Princetonians. Although many students have accents, both domestic and foreign, these are in the minority, novelties and conversation starters. In the country at large regional accents and expressions are the norm. Come to Pittsburgh and you're no longer laughed at for calling your cola "pop"; complain west of the Hudson about having to "stand on line" in after-Thanksgiving crowds and you'll elicit funny looks. The East Coast tones to which one grows accustomed at Princeton sound out of place amidst the lulls of a Southern drawl.

I realized my own ear switch when a mother and daughter chatting in Chinese sounded more natural than the West Virginia twang I'd grown up hearing. That a Princeton education makes East Asian speech more familiar than that of Middle America demonstrates the power of the bubble. Assuming that everyone communicates the way we do can lead to real misunderstandings.

Americans don't look like Princetonians. Admissions officials seem to have a talent for accepting beautiful people, while America as a nation struggles with obesity. In many cases, poor nutrition is associated with lower economic status. Fresh produce is expensive, carbohydrates offer the greatest per dollar caloric value and exercise requires time and money that someone who must juggle multiple jobs may not have. Lack of access to health care further complicates this problem. Princeton students, on the other hand, come from backgrounds where nutrition, exercise and health care were both available and valued, and the University continues to provide for these concerns. Many Americans' concerns are more basic: the need to provide for a family.

Americans also don't think like Princetonians. When my family first moved to Morgantown 15 years ago, it was impossible to get the New York Times. Now a few stores carry the paper, but the closest thing to home delivery is reading the online edition. Instead, local newspapers and radio stations predominate. It's telling that while the New York Times criticizes the administration's Iraq policy, in West Virginia papers, casualities still make front page headlines. These small papers show the pulse of America at large, fiercely patriotic in defense of their children overseas and with visceral ties to the military. Appeals that condescendingly instruct small-town Americans how they should interpret the world cannot hope to succeed.

Americans do not sound, look or think like Princetonians, and to assume so is a mistake. Part of an education is stepping outside the bubble, to learn from the world through experience. Another part is to challenge one's own assumptions, to recognize that not everyone else holds the same ideas and beliefs. Let's hope the Nov. 2 reality check will inspire us to go meet Americans as they really are, not as we've come to assume.

In my last column I suggested that students choosing concentrations gravitated toward larger departments for their greater flexibility. However, it has come to my attention that smaller departments also offer a wide range of academic options. I apologize for any misconceptions I may have propagated. Emily Stolzenberg is a sophomore from Morgantown, W. Va. She can be reached at estolzen@princeton.edu.