(Alternate title: School pride rears its ugly head.)I did not attend Northwest Missouri State University (NMSU). Not that there’s anything wrong with going to NMSU. But I didn’t.
I am a proud graduate of Truman State University, also known (at least to its proud graduates) as the Harvard of the Midwest.
[Unfortunate side note: Yes, I am aware - and have been since returning to the real world after graduation - that many, many other colleges between the coasts claim this title. Read here for a humorous article that not only references Truman's desire to hold this honor, but also points out that, strangely enough, most schools in Missouri think they are the Midwest's answer to Ivy League.]
So, admittedly, I may have not attended the official Harvard of the Midwest. But I also did not attend NMSU. I did not go to college in Maryville!
See, many people confuse NMSU with Truman, probably because one is located in Maryville, while the other is located in Kirksville. But is it really that difficult to see the difference? As difficult as the difference between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I suppose.
I don’t know why I get so riled up when people make this mistake. Maybe it’s because I worked for the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce and appreciate the community with all its quirks and middle-of-nowhereness. Maybe it’s because I’m a big proponent of accuracy.
Or maybe – UGH – it’s because I have a problem with pride. I want everyone to know that I’m smart. I’m so smart I had to go to the smart school. And that’s Truman! In Kirksville! So there!
Uh, yeah. Definite pride. I think some school pride is okay (check this out if you want to know why I’d be proud of Truman), but pride in myself is not okay.
So, let’s get the facts straight, people.
1. I graduated from Truman State University.
2. Truman is located in Kirksville, Missouri.
3. It may or may not be the Harvard of the Midwest.
4. I have a big issue with pride.
What about you? Do you have pride? School pride? School spirit? (Yes, we do. We have spirit, how ’bout you?)
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i don’t really have school pride – i didn’t attend the school from which i graduated long enough to really care – but i understand being frustrated/annoyed when people mix up the facts about where you came from.
mel and i grew up in northeast minneapolis. that’s right, IN minneapolis. within the city limits. when people ask where we’re from, and we say “minneapolis”, they ask “what suburb?”
if i had meant one of the suburbs, i would have said that. i meant the actual city. people live there, you know.
so then they say “ohhh”, as if we grew up in the middle of the ghetto (and no, it wasn’t the ghetto. it was a very nice neighborhood)
Hobsis, I understand the thing about the city, although from the opposite point of view. I grew up about 30 miles north of Kansas City, but when talking to people it’s just easier to say I’m from the KC area. I got into a big argument with a guy at college who was from a KC suburb – approx. the same distance from downtown as my town – who insisted that I was not from the KC area. I believe he said, “Can you even hear our radio stations?” Hmph.
(Chelley, can you guess who that was?)
:D The guy you suggested I give another chance, by any chance? ;)
I don’t know that I have that much school pride either. In fact, sometimes I try to play down which school(s) I attended. For example, I went to Iowa for Speech Path, and it has the #1 program in the country, and the discipline started there. But I make a point to tell people I went there because it made the most sense/was the most convenient, and because Iowa State didn’t have the program. But as you know, that’s kind of my personality. ;)
(I’m not saying I don’t have pride though; I have too much pride in a bad way! Just not strictly in the sense you were talking about, I don’t think.)
As for Kirksville, “quirks and middle-of-nowhereness” is a perfect description of that place! ;)
You guessed it, chelley.
i hate the iowa/iowa state thing, too. i may not have graduated, but the fact that i attended the #1 school in the nation is something i’m proud of (oops).
and yes – i’m from MINNEAPOLIS!
I can see that (Iowa vs. ISU) – the people I know from Iowa are very picky about how different those two schools are! (Especially the sports fans!)
oh yeah, and to everyone i went to school with in sweden – i’m american not canadian. just so you know.
yeah, a year of Bible school (in english). best experience ever!
Cool! I’d love to hear about it sometime!
oh – you will now ;)
I thought I had read somewhere recently that someone I knew online went there. I have a coworker who went to Truman State (but she graduated in 07, young little thing).
My college only fancied itself the Wake Forest of Virgina or something.