The term ‘Townie’ is not one used lightly in Athens, Ohio. As students, we subconsciously separate ourselves from normal non-collegiate residents. As such, the local residents also do not consider themselves in the same vein as the college students. Part of this separation is due to the negative stereotypes we see in each other. We see the people living in the surrounding area as living in Hicksville. They see us as a sort of urban invasion: a little city full of drunken young adults. Perhaps these stereotypes have some basis in reality, but that does not mean that we have to let them control our relations with the locals.
Generally, our interviewees consider themselves to not be Appalachian. Among the people we interviewed were a freshman who graduated from Athens High, a professor of Child Development, an RA from Picqua, and Renata’s boyfriend from the Pittsburgh area. The only one who thought themself Appalachian was the guy from Pittsburgh. However, when he was asked for his description of Appalachia, he responded with terms such as ‘skiing’ and ‘mountains’. The professor described the nature aspects of the area, and the others pointed out the lack of education and poor social standing of Appalachia.
Though some believe that the student-local relationship is not as strong as some people want to imply, from what we have found, neither the students nor the locals seem to have any severe issues with the current situation. Although there really does not seem to be very much communication between the two groups, we all still share the community. Ohio University IS Athens. It is the first thing that comes to mind when people say the name of the city. That is not going to change. It has been that way for two-hundred years, and it will stay that way for two-hundred more.
Unless 2012 happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment