FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tommiegun]

I've noticed that there is some anti-Tommie sentiment in the area, as well.  While I definitely considered myself in the "mainstream," so to speak, during my years as an undergrad, I like to think I wasn't a douchebag.  I also think that the dislike has a lot to do with the amount of "rich" kids from the burbs that end up at St. Thomas. 

Example: As someone who grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, there was definitely a BMW/Abercrombie/Wayzata/Minnetonka/credit card culture shock when I first got to school.  On my first weekday of school, some people on my floor and I went to the mall.  They bought all kinds of crazy and unneccessary crap; from t-shirts to food, etc.  I did not partake; these people were of the douchey entitled variety.

While many of the people I met at St. Thomas did have an "entitled" rich kid attitude, the vast majority of (even amongst those students who were very well off) the people I knew did not.  It was far more likely that they understood that they were lucky, and wanted to use the advantages given them to attend a school with an excellent reputation for producing businessmen/women in the region.  But I am very confident that the conflation of these two groups of students (who in my view constituted the majority of St. Thomas students) leads to the believe that St. Thomas students are rich, snobby, entitled, a-holes.  A belief that, I biasedly think, is wrong but understandable.

[OzJohnnie]

I bet Sagatag's old lady was such a mainstream Tommie that the boat she sailed Lake Minnetonka with was called "Mainstream Tommie."

Uhmmm... If we were playing golf, Sam, you would need a really thick skin at this point.  Bench has cracked opened a bad door.  I will not pass through it!

[Retired Old Rat]

It is generally a minority that give the majority a bad name.  I think that is true in this case.

We had our share of rich kid douche bags at St. John's as well.  As well as athletes who thought they were special.  Most quickly realized that being a star at the D3 level might help you get your first job.  But that's it.

I will say that I think a school run by a bunch of monks who've taken a vow of poverty does tend to create a little different vibe about living in our materialistic society.

[SagatagSam]

I will say that I think a school run by a bunch of monks who've taken a vow of poverty does tend to create a little different vibe about living in our materialistic society.

Actually, the monks at Saint John's do not take a vow of poverty (it's just implied, and a life of anything but poverty in the monastery is frowned upon.)
They take a vow to 1) stability, 2) conversatio morum, and 3) obedience.

[DoubleO]

Do people really pay attention to it and why?

Because it's there.  And when you get to 1000 karma points, you get something special.

Karma, smarma. I would liken it to an adjective commonly used to describe the sexual orientation of a former star Johnnie PG. Hint: ryhmes with hay! Here we go...

[SagatagSam]

Uhmmm... If we were playing golf, Sam, you would need a really thick skin at this point.  Bench has cracked opened a bad door.  I will not pass through it!

Oz, I work with U.S. Army drill sergeants for a living. I think I can hold my own. 

[finsleft]

What else is UST hated for besides football?  Hated by whom?

I take it this is the essay portion of the test, right?

[USTBench]

Uhmmm... If we were playing golf, Sam, you would need a really thick skin at this point.  Bench has cracked opened a bad door.  I will not pass through it!

Oz, I work with U.S. Army drill sergeants for a living. I think I can hold my own. 

You can't fight the power of friendship. Or smiles.

[SagatagSam]

I take it this is the essay portion of the test, right?

8 out of 10 Tommies cannot see the large land mammal of the Loxodonta genus in this picture.

[USTBench]

I take it this is the essay portion of the test, right?

8 out of 10 Tommies cannot see the large land mammal of the Loxodonta genus in this picture.

Speaking of pachyderms, how is the Bennie hoops team looking this year?

[DoubleO]

It is generally a minority that give the majority a bad name.  I think that is true in this case.

We had our share of rich kid douche bags at St. John's as well.  As well as athletes who thought they were special.  Most quickly realized that being a star at the D3 level might help you get your first job.  But that's it.

I will say that I think a school run by a bunch of monks who've taken a vow of poverty does tend to create a little different vibe about living in our materialistic society.

On the subject of douche bags and karma, the premise of the whole karma deal sounds synonymous to douche bag to me. So, you don't like what a guy posts, so you (in 99% of cases) aynonomously hit them with "negative karma"? Sweet! I can tell you I have never, nor will never partake in such douchebouchery.

[Mr.MIAC]

I've noticed that there is some anti-Tommie sentiment in the area, as well.  While I definitely considered myself in the "mainstream," so to speak, during my years as an undergrad, I like to think I wasn't a douchebag.  I also think that the dislike has a lot to do with the amount of "rich" kids from the burbs that end up at St. Thomas.

Example: As someone who grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, there was definitely a BMW/Abercrombie/Wayzata/Minnetonka/credit card culture shock when I first got to school.  On my first weekday of school, some people on my floor and I went to the mall.  They bought all kinds of crazy and unneccessary crap; from t-shirts to food, etc.  I did not partake; these people were of the douchey entitled variety.

While many of the people I met at St. Thomas did have an "entitled" rich kid attitude, the vast majority of (even amongst those students who were very well off) the people I knew did not.  It was far more likely that they understood that they were lucky, and wanted to use the advantages given them to attend a school with an excellent reputation for producing businessmen/women in the region.  But I am very confident that the conflation of these two groups of students (who in my view constituted the majority of St. Thomas students) leads to the believe that St. Thomas students are rich, snobby, entitled, a-holes.  A belief that, I biasedly think, is wrong but understandable.

I think that as UST continues to draw more out of state and international students this image will change.  Much of the reason why some people view UST as having a lot of "entitled" rich kids is because a large portion of the student body has historically come from the most privileged areas (Minnetonka, Edina, etc.) in the region.  Macalester and Carleton have plenty of rich kids who are from outside the region and don't carry with them the burden of any local stereotypes.

[SagatagSam]

I think that as UST continues to draw more out of state and international students this image will change.

...and you'll have fantastic soccer and lacrosse teams.

[Mr.MIAC]

It is generally a minority that give the majority a bad name.  I think that is true in this case.

We had our share of rich kid douche bags at St. John's as well.  As well as athletes who thought they were special.  Most quickly realized that being a star at the D3 level might help you get your first job.  But that's it.

I will say that I think a school run by a bunch of monks who've taken a vow of poverty does tend to create a little different vibe about living in our materialistic society.

On the subject of douche bags and karma, the premise of the whole karma deal sounds synonymous to douche bag to me. So, you don't like what a guy posts, so you (in 99% of cases) aynonomously hit them with "negative karma"? Sweet! I can tell you I have never, nor will never partake in such douchebouchery.

Agreed.  As an aside, I bet if we could see all who hand out -K on this board the findings would show the following: Collegeville = Douche Bag Central. 

[Retired Old Rat]

Better to be called a douche bag than to actually be one.