Anonymous
Mount St Mary’s University advertises itself as a community. While I would not say it is not a community, I would say that the community feels different than I was expecting. I was expecting to become friends with many different types of people. The University is separated not just based on people’s interests but based on their level of physical activity. There have been multiple times where I have found myself being compared to or looked down on by athletes. I realized this when I was called a “NARP”. I didn’t know what this meant, and others may not as well, it means non-athletic regular person.
I thought this was offensive because it separated me from other people in a way that they judged me for. When I first came here (toured and visited for accepted students’ day) I found myself getting along with many people. But when it came to moving in, we never spoke again. I am not saying that this is a problem because we all have our preferences, but I slowly figured out that this school’s community is surrounded by cliques. One of the problems is that they call people NARP but are not aware that it has any effect on people.
I had the realization that once a sports team is put together, they will never really hangout with anyone but their teammates or people who also play another sport. I have even had experiences where I have sat next to people who are on sports teams but will not acknowledge me outside of the classroom setting.
I think the word NARP to describe people should not be used because it separates people and lowers one’s mutually achieved status as a college student. We are at a small and private university, there is no reason that there should be a separation between athletes and people who do not play sports.
I have also seen athletes complain on social media apps like Yik Yak, where they post anonymous comments about NARPs. When people see this and respond they do not even seem to care if it bothers people.
At a small university like this there should be no condescending language to separate ourselves from different communities. There have been times where comments have been made that people should not even go here without athletics because there is no point because everyone gets academic scholarships.
I know that people reading this will think that I do not put effort into friendships or maybe it is my own judgment that is putting me into this situation. But I do not only find myself feeling this way around campus. The athletic culture needs to change, athletes are not the only ones who are important on campus.
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