If you’d asked me two weeks ago what I expected of college, I certainly would not have said crooning “Wagon Wheel” in the company of people donning “Rage with Romney” bro tanks and American-flag Chubbies, and then pledging allegiance to an American flag hung on one wall of a cramped dorm on 9/11 (it should be noted that no one was sober in that room). I would never have foreseen my attending a pregame for the College Republicans during Freshman Week, trying to dodge fireballs in clamorous political discourse over Fireball.
I should mention that I’m not actually a Republican. In fact, I’m a Democrat – and a zealous one at that.
Why would a right-minded, left-wing individual attend a right-wing pregame? Does that make me a closet libertarian? A rebel? A political spy? A party animal?
Well, none of the above. I, just like myriads of other incoming college freshmen, was simply reveling in the newfound freedoms offered by college. Among these liberties is the freedom to not only pregame, but to also pregame with the opposite political party.
But that’s certainly not everyone’s conception of “freedom.” Maybe some people’s idea of freedom is pregaming with the College Democrats. And maybe some aren’t even looking to join a political group on campus, let alone go to a pregame with one.
All of us came here with certain preconceptions about college, most notably that it entails greater freedom. I, for one, certainly did. As the only child of immigrant parents, college connoted more than freedom from having to eat my vegetables or make my bed or clean my hamsters’ cage. It meant more than the freedom to choose my own classes – as well as the freedom to skip class. It meant more than the freedom to date and party and pregame political meetings. College meant autonomy and independence. Here was my opportunity to create an identity for myself discrete from that which had always been envisioned for me by pursuing repressed passions and interests. College meant freedom of speech, press and religion. College meant the freedom to no longer have to make anyone else but myself proud.
While these freedoms may be esoteric to some, these preconceptions we bear in mind about college turn out to be misconceptions. The expectations of the freedom to explore arcane subjects, try out ballroom dancing or continue playing an instrument that you’ve been playing for the past thirteen years of your life — those are misconceptions.
“No experience needed,” they said. “Try new things,” they said. “You can do anything,” they said.
They lied. It’s all a perverted game of deception. Prior experience may not be needed, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. And when you’re surrounded by multitudes of Monets, Mozarts and Mannings, that hope of freedom and of finding your niche dwindles.
Princeton is not the realization of freedom. In fact, it’s the repression of freedom. An inherently elitist culture adds a degree of exclusivity to everything, be it an eating club or club soccer.
So is college really as free as we’d thought it to be? Parents “have” to nag you, laundry still has to be done, fruits and vegetables still have to be eaten (more or less). Certain classes must be taken, a path expected to be followed to get into graduate school. And so many — too many — clubs require an application to participate.
Now that we’re here, it turns out we may not have innumerable freedoms, and we just may get rejected from every club, organization and position we apply for. Inevitably we may feel discouraged and dejected, blinded by a culture of elitism on campus.
But we shouldn’t let this sense of disillusionment hinder us from looking to some of the freedoms that we do have. As for me, I attended a pregame sober with people from the opposite political affiliation — what will you do in the search for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on campus?
Sarah Sakha is a freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz. She can be reached at ssakha@princeton.edu.
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