Adjusting To Cambridge

With a population of about 30 people, Birney, Mont, is quite different from Cambridge, Mass. The town's public school is for grades one through eight and has an enrollment of 12. The nearest high school is about two-and-a-half hours away. About 10 miles outside of Birney is a ranch where Jake Carson '99-'00 grew up.

Having lived in Birney for his entire life, Carson recalls many aspects of growing up in such a small town--spending lots of time with his family, knowing few people his own age, but most of all, experiencing a great amount of privacy.

"No one is there to intrude upon the way you live," Carson says. "If I want to walk around my yard without any clothes on, it's my right."

Harvard prides itself on attracting students from every state, becoming a cultural and geographical microcosm of the U.S., a melting pot. (Or is it now a salad bowl to the savvy anthropologist?) But when 18-year-olds from across the country gather in Cambridge, how do their backgrounds affect their Harvard experiences?

Although Carson says the anonymity of living in a city offers its own sense of privacy, the transition to Cambridge was a change for him.

But according to students from areas as densely populated and urban as Cambridge, one does not have to be from Harvard's less-represented states like Montana to require some adjustment. New Yorkers, Californians, Texans and yes, even Cantabrigians, describe having to adjust in light of the quirks and stereotypes from home that shaped their childhoods.

California Dreamin'

Although about 10 percent of Harvard students are from California, denizens say they often feel singled out because of the stereotypes surrounding their state.

"People have this notion of California as kind of flaky and moronic," says Jesse O. Kellerman '01, who is originally from Los Angeles. "Sometimes I'll play into it, `cause I get sick of explaining to people that I'm not a drug addict or that I don't go to breakfast with movie stars, that I didn't go to school with Dylan."

Sara A. Yellen '00 says she too does not fit the California stereotype.

"I'm not part of the whole beach culture," says Yellen. "A lot of people are like that, wearing sundresses and bikini tops. I don't identify with that at all."

"I feel like back home is a lot more relaxed," Yellen says of her San Diego upbringing. Yellen classifies herself as "intense and driven," traits she sees as more typical of East Coast residents.

"The way I act normally contradicts their stereotypes," she says.

However, Yellen says that her speech patterns normally give her away as a West-Coast native.

Kellerman agrees that certain phrases can often clue in fellow Harvard students to his California heritage. Because of this, Kellerman says he has stopped using many words.

"I've dropped a lot of California phraseology since being here," says Kellerman. "When I'm here I tend to drop `totally', `dude' and `rad.'"

Alexi O. Solit-McGruder '01 also says he notices a difference in language between Boston and his hometown of Berkeley, Calif.

"Speaking from an urban slang perspective, people talk differently on the East Coast than the West Coast," he says. Accustomed to the distinctly Californian "hella" and "saucy," he notes, "mainly on the East Coast people say `yo' before and after every sentence."

New York, New York

While residents of California are quick to distance themselves from the stereotypes of the West Coast, New Yorkers, who comprise about 15 percent of the College's students, readily affirm the images universally associated with their city and its people.

"I really feel like [New York] defines who I am," says Liz J. Taxin '99 of Manhattan. Describing herself as a focused person who walks "targetedly," Taxin admits she has been shaped by the New York mentality.

"I go after whatever I want. Sometimes people think I'm bitchy; I walk with a little bitchiness--I think it's from force of habit; it's like this facade, like a social code," she says.

Stefan G. Karpinski '00 also sees parts of his character as a reflection of growing up in New York City.

"I definitely have aggressiveness and lack of politeness at times that I attribute to New York," he says. "Suburban areas really bother me, I think that's definitely due to living in New York."

"There's definitely a certain difference of personality," adds Karpinski. "Somehow I think it has to do with the weather. People from places with better weather tend to have sunnier personalities."

But Taxin says that while she will readily admit she's from New York, she has had to modify her dress because the social code in Massachusetts is not entirely compatible with what she's used to.

"I have all these cool, funky clothes that are in the back of my wardrobe that I wouldn't pull out here," she says. "I did freshman year, `cause I didn't want to change. But Harvard did change me."

The Lone Star

But not everyone at Harvard falls into the East Coast-West Coast battle--especially the 4 percent of Harvard students who come from Texas. Nevertheless, Texans at Harvard say they too have had to adjust to living at Harvard and dealing with the stereotypes.

"A lot of people ask me if I have my boots with me," says Nick J. Stone '00 of Dallas, Texas who refrains from wearing the boots that sit in his closet, reminding him of his hometown.

Footwear aside, Stone says he is proud of many of the characteristics he feels Texans share, specifically their friendliness to strangers and acquaintances alike.

"That sense of goodwill is very important," he says.

Stone says that such goodwill is not as common in Massachusetts. When driving in Texas, Stone says he waves to fellow drivers and that they will often wave back. In Massachusetts, they "flip" him off.

Chess A. Stetson '01 notes other characteristics of Texans.

"I think being tough is the stereotype...and talking slow," says Stetson

"There's a lot of state pride," he adds. "You might attribute it to the Western stereotype of individuality and self-sufficiency that we all feel. It seems to be particularly Texan."

Stone says that Texans are so proud of their state that "there's a bumper sticker that says: American by birth, Southern by luck, Texan by the grace of God."

Hometown Favorites

Even the locals at Harvard are not immune to stereotypes.

"Immediately people ask me if I like living so close to home," says Adam G. Kosberg '00, a Cambridge resident. "They feel like I've gone here just because I'm a homebody."

Massachusetts students who come to Harvard must defend their choice of school to those who believe that going to college necessitates going somewhere new.

"For a long time, this is where I thought I'd end up; It seemed natural," says Kosberg. "It doesn't have as much prestige as in other parts of the country when you live around here."

Anna L. Malsberger '00 of Boston says she doesn't go home often but feels that knowing her family is close provides comfort. Even though she has long been familiar with Harvard Square, her perception of it has changed since attending Harvard. "Harvard was behind this big wall and the Square was different," recalls Malsberger.

And of course, there are advantages to being part of the 13 percent of students who are from Massachusetts.

"Living near home is all about free laundry, home cooked meals," says Kosberg.