The great 'Coastie' divide
so this is actually an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, but with a little tweaking it could so easily be an article form the Onion...
Ugg boots, private dorms make out-of-state UW students target of teasing
Madison - Emily Bach, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recognized her friends' Halloween costumes immediately - jackets by The North Face, oversize sunglasses, sheepskin boots known as Uggs.
"They went as Coasties," Bach explained, chuckling over lunch in a cafeteria.
The term may be lost on people outside the university, but for many undergraduates it's a part of the vocabulary.
Step onto campus and you'll discover the cultural divide between students from Wisconsin and their out-of-state counterparts, commonly known as Coasties.
The stereotypes go something like this:
Coasties are snobs who self-segregate in private dorms and the Greek system.
Wisconsin students are provincial and unwilling to accept outsiders.
Students say the rivalry is lighthearted and that friendships form across the divide.
"We just like to make fun of each other," Bach said.
Even so, the divisions are now addressed at freshman orientation, and some students say they feel as if they are attending separate universities.
"We're in two completely different worlds," said Amanda Mausner, a freshman from New Jersey.
Private dorms fuel divide
Of the 28,217 undergraduates at UW-Madison, 58% are from Wisconsin and 11% are from Minnesota.
Most of the other 31% come from Illinois, New York, California and New Jersey. These students form a distinct demographic, and are often clumped under the all-purpose category: Coasties.
Their tuition - $20,280 a year - is substantially higher than what students from Wisconsin and Minnesota pay, $6,280 and $7,802. That makes them more likely to come from wealthier families.
A housing crunch on campus helps highlight economic divisions among some students the moment they arrive.
UW-Madison residence halls - which cost $4,716 a year - don't have enough space for all the freshmen. Under state law, the college must offer on-campus housing to Wisconsin students who enroll by a certain date. Hundreds of out-of-state students are squeezed out, and most land in privately owned dormitories off campus.
These private dorms, which can cost up to $12,000 a year, help define Coasties as separate and different. Students talk openly about a public-private dorm divide.
Last spring, a girl from New York who had been accepted to UW-Madison inquired about living in private dorms in an online listserv called College Confidential.
"I almost lived there," wrote a UW-Madison student from the East Coast. "The atmosphere is diff. if you want to be stuck in Coastie mentality, that's what the private dorms do to you."
Randy Frankfurter, a freshman from East Brunswick, N.J., lives in a private dorm called Statesider, which looms over State St. It has a lobby with plush couches and a flat screen television; a spacious fitness room encased by glass windows; and a recently installed tanning bed. It's a far cry from the public dorms.
Frankfurter said it's been difficult for him to integrate with Wisconsin students.
"They look down on us just because our parents have a little bit more money, because we talk about where our fathers work. They want to feel superior to us because they think we think we're superior to them. Then we're forced to."
Frankfurter said he is often ridiculed. "Just the other day, someone in my statistics class asked me where my Uggs were. I was trying to think of a comeback."
Jessica Fishel, a Statesider resident from Los Angeles, broke in: "How about - Where's your cheese?"
Fishel happened to be donning Uggs, as well as oversize sunglasses - items commonly associated with Coasties, even though some Wisconsin students also wear them. She said she is constantly needled over her clothing.
"At the last football game, I got four comments about my Uggs," she complained. "It's like 40 degrees. Whatever! Get over it!"
It's not just the clothes
But Bach, a Milwaukee native, said it's not just where Coasties live and what they wear. It's how they act.
"They carry themselves like they're better than everyone," Bach said, as she sat at a cafeteria table dressed in a hooded sweat shirt and jeans. "I swear, it takes them like two hours to get ready in the morning. Most girls in my dorm roll out of bed five minutes before class."
Jason Gertler, a freshman from Olympia Fields, Ill., lives in Statesider but identifies more with Wisconsin students.
"They have a spoiled mannerism," he said of Coasties. "I try to hang out with public dorm kids. They're more straightforward and quality."
Mausner, of New Jersey, agrees that Wisconsin students are more down to earth. She lives in Statesider, but has befriended some Wisconsin students in class.
"I feel like they're a breath of fresh air," she said.
Mausner recently dropped out of a sorority after concluding that the Greek system was fueling divisions between Wisconsin students and Coasties. Statistics show that most of the students in sororities are from outside Wisconsin, although Barbara Kautz, a university official who oversees the Greek system, says it's open to all.
Lori Berquam, dean of students, described the cultural conflict on campus as "good-natured," and a lot of students agree.
But Wren Singer, director of orientation and new student programs, takes it seriously. At freshman orientation, students are prodded into discussions of "stereotypes of coastal culture vs. Midwest culture," Singer said.
"Most people think about ethnic diversity, people from different races," she said. "But I think it's much more likely that a freshman would make a derogatory comment about someone from the East Coast than someone of color."
Naomi Fabe, a sophomore from Los Angeles, said it was difficult to overcome divisions.
Fabe, who lived in a private dorm her first year, tried to befriend students from Wisconsin. But she kept gravitating back to students from outside the state who shared her lifestyle and values. This year, she is living in an upscale housing complex on Langdon St., which she said is full of Coasties.
"You're trying to have a new experience," Fabe said. "But you go back to what you're used to."
Ugg boots, private dorms make out-of-state UW students target of teasing
Madison - Emily Bach, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recognized her friends' Halloween costumes immediately - jackets by The North Face, oversize sunglasses, sheepskin boots known as Uggs.
"They went as Coasties," Bach explained, chuckling over lunch in a cafeteria.
The term may be lost on people outside the university, but for many undergraduates it's a part of the vocabulary.
Step onto campus and you'll discover the cultural divide between students from Wisconsin and their out-of-state counterparts, commonly known as Coasties.
The stereotypes go something like this:
Coasties are snobs who self-segregate in private dorms and the Greek system.
Wisconsin students are provincial and unwilling to accept outsiders.
Students say the rivalry is lighthearted and that friendships form across the divide.
"We just like to make fun of each other," Bach said.
Even so, the divisions are now addressed at freshman orientation, and some students say they feel as if they are attending separate universities.
"We're in two completely different worlds," said Amanda Mausner, a freshman from New Jersey.
Private dorms fuel divide
Of the 28,217 undergraduates at UW-Madison, 58% are from Wisconsin and 11% are from Minnesota.
Most of the other 31% come from Illinois, New York, California and New Jersey. These students form a distinct demographic, and are often clumped under the all-purpose category: Coasties.
Their tuition - $20,280 a year - is substantially higher than what students from Wisconsin and Minnesota pay, $6,280 and $7,802. That makes them more likely to come from wealthier families.
A housing crunch on campus helps highlight economic divisions among some students the moment they arrive.
UW-Madison residence halls - which cost $4,716 a year - don't have enough space for all the freshmen. Under state law, the college must offer on-campus housing to Wisconsin students who enroll by a certain date. Hundreds of out-of-state students are squeezed out, and most land in privately owned dormitories off campus.
These private dorms, which can cost up to $12,000 a year, help define Coasties as separate and different. Students talk openly about a public-private dorm divide.
Last spring, a girl from New York who had been accepted to UW-Madison inquired about living in private dorms in an online listserv called College Confidential.
"I almost lived there," wrote a UW-Madison student from the East Coast. "The atmosphere is diff. if you want to be stuck in Coastie mentality, that's what the private dorms do to you."
Randy Frankfurter, a freshman from East Brunswick, N.J., lives in a private dorm called Statesider, which looms over State St. It has a lobby with plush couches and a flat screen television; a spacious fitness room encased by glass windows; and a recently installed tanning bed. It's a far cry from the public dorms.
Frankfurter said it's been difficult for him to integrate with Wisconsin students.
"They look down on us just because our parents have a little bit more money, because we talk about where our fathers work. They want to feel superior to us because they think we think we're superior to them. Then we're forced to."
Frankfurter said he is often ridiculed. "Just the other day, someone in my statistics class asked me where my Uggs were. I was trying to think of a comeback."
Jessica Fishel, a Statesider resident from Los Angeles, broke in: "How about - Where's your cheese?"
Fishel happened to be donning Uggs, as well as oversize sunglasses - items commonly associated with Coasties, even though some Wisconsin students also wear them. She said she is constantly needled over her clothing.
"At the last football game, I got four comments about my Uggs," she complained. "It's like 40 degrees. Whatever! Get over it!"
It's not just the clothes
But Bach, a Milwaukee native, said it's not just where Coasties live and what they wear. It's how they act.
"They carry themselves like they're better than everyone," Bach said, as she sat at a cafeteria table dressed in a hooded sweat shirt and jeans. "I swear, it takes them like two hours to get ready in the morning. Most girls in my dorm roll out of bed five minutes before class."
Jason Gertler, a freshman from Olympia Fields, Ill., lives in Statesider but identifies more with Wisconsin students.
"They have a spoiled mannerism," he said of Coasties. "I try to hang out with public dorm kids. They're more straightforward and quality."
Mausner, of New Jersey, agrees that Wisconsin students are more down to earth. She lives in Statesider, but has befriended some Wisconsin students in class.
"I feel like they're a breath of fresh air," she said.
Mausner recently dropped out of a sorority after concluding that the Greek system was fueling divisions between Wisconsin students and Coasties. Statistics show that most of the students in sororities are from outside Wisconsin, although Barbara Kautz, a university official who oversees the Greek system, says it's open to all.
Lori Berquam, dean of students, described the cultural conflict on campus as "good-natured," and a lot of students agree.
But Wren Singer, director of orientation and new student programs, takes it seriously. At freshman orientation, students are prodded into discussions of "stereotypes of coastal culture vs. Midwest culture," Singer said.
"Most people think about ethnic diversity, people from different races," she said. "But I think it's much more likely that a freshman would make a derogatory comment about someone from the East Coast than someone of color."
Naomi Fabe, a sophomore from Los Angeles, said it was difficult to overcome divisions.
Fabe, who lived in a private dorm her first year, tried to befriend students from Wisconsin. But she kept gravitating back to students from outside the state who shared her lifestyle and values. This year, she is living in an upscale housing complex on Langdon St., which she said is full of Coasties.
"You're trying to have a new experience," Fabe said. "But you go back to what you're used to."
posted by Natalie at 9:12 PM
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