More Than Just the Jersey Shore

Many Harvard undergrads hail from the state that everyone seems to sneer at, defying the stereotypes that are attached to their beloved home. The Dirty Jerz has one of the worst reps around town, but here are five reasons why Jersey deserves some respect:

1) We are stronger than the storm. Hurricane Sandy wreaked devastation last autumn, tearing away the beloved boardwalk that spans Jersey’s gorgeous beaches. But that made no difference to the thousands of high school seniors who flocked to the shore anyway six months later for prom weekend. Nobody can stop the Jersey party, not even Sandy.

2) The birthplace of Frank Sinatra, Derek Jeter, Queen Latifah, John Travolta, Whitney Houston, Anne Hathaway, Muhammad Ali, and Caroline Park. You are welcome.

3) We are legally barred from pumping our own gas. Which means sitting in a warm car as someone else braves the sleet/rain/snow outside to pump your gas. We know. We’re spoiled.

4) With just a short car/bus/train ride, we can visit all the awesome places in Philadelphia and New York… without having to live with all the congestion, smog, sky-high rent, and obnoxious city dwellers.

5) If you’ve ever met Jersey folk, you know they can put up one hell of a fight. The fight between New Jerseyans wishing to legalize same sex marriage, and those who wished for it to remain illegal recently came to a head. On Monday, October 21, 2013, New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize same sex marriage.