by When looking at the world today, I think it is important to focus on our similarities rather than our differences across all cultures, not just between scientific and literary culture. The way society is today everyone is divided and categorized into many different groups or cultures. Labeling people, whether it be by the music they like, the subject they major in, their gender, or race, is sadly something that occurs naturally. It seems to be human nature to create in-groups and out-groups which foster us versus them mentality. In some ways, this makes sense because it is easier to feel a sense of belonging when you have a “group” or a culture you belong to. The problem with this is that it is limiting and can close people off from broadening their horizons.
At Colby, for example, the largest divide I see is not between those who study science and those who study humanities but rather between athletes and non-athletes. Athletes have even given students who are not on sports teams a name; narps (non-athletic regular people). While, of course, people do not exclusively talk to people on sports teams or not on teams but the cultural divide creeps into all parts of campus life. In dining halls (especially during pre COVID times) there are always big tables of teams dominating the dining hall. While there is nothing wrong with a team eating dinner together, it can be overwhelming to see so many tables full of teams hogging up tables. Athletic culture also creeps into the party scene at Colby. Teams hold mixers between two teams which perpetuates the divide between athletes and non-athletes as these mixers increase ties and social connections across different teams and exclude non-athletes all together. Sometimes chunks of teams even take classes together. This can be intimidating to anyone who is not on that team when trying to participate in class. While it is important to have a close team bond to better team performance and to create strong friendships, sports teams should not be the be end-all of athletes’ social life. It can be toxic to surround yourself with people from only one “group” or “culture”.
I am on the women’s crew team, and it took a while for me to realize that I was only spending time with my teammates. Even though I love spending time with my team, it is not healthy to spend time with the same people all the time. I had to make a conscious decision to step back and spend time with people outside of my crew bubble. This not only enabled me to make more friends but also appreciate the time I spent with my team more.
When looking at how the divide between people on sports teams and people not on sports teams deeply affects and rules Colbys culture, it becomes clear why the societal creation of in-groups and out-groups is so detrimental to the advancement of society. Everyone needs to experience and learn from people who come from different cultures than their own. Spending time with people across cultural borders creates a shared sense of empathy which, is always a good thing.