There’s No House Cup So What’s the Point? BC’s Violent School Rivalries

Boston College is ranked as the 30^th best school in the nation, with 81% of the students in the top 10% of their high school class and an acceptance rate of 29%. Those are some solid numbers right there. We all got into this marvelous institution, but there’s still a weird tension between schools. CSOM, Lynch, CSON and the newly dubbed MCAS duke it out on the daily. But why?

Kate Xu, senior in the Carroll School of Management agreed that the issue has sparked some comments. “Yes – students in other schools discriminate against us. They sometimes call it Carroll School of Money,” said Xu. But what’s the harm in a silly nickname, right?

“It’s not really the culture, but the individual who creates the stigma,” said Carley Bell, sophomore in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. Though it’s optimistic to argue snubs of certain schools are only from certain people, it’s on its way to becoming part of the BC culture.

“I’ve had people allude to the fact that Lynch is the easiest, or the majors here aren’t as involved as the majors in other schools,” said Annie Iannazzie, junior in the Lynch School of Education. “I’m not arguing one way or the other, but I’ve definitely been in situations where people have made joke or comments about Lynch being ‘Lynch School of Easy.’” Judging schools as “easier” than others implies these students are lazy or getting away with doing less. In a place where all students are putting in hours of studying, the comments just lower self-confidence.

“I find that nursing students are stereotyped as being all girls (which is mostly true),” said Stephanie Vitonie, senior in Connell School of Nursing. “I also think that some bio or pre-med majors think that nursing is below them – that it’s easier.” With these students enrolled in schools rated as some of the highest in the nation, being judged as easy is ridiculous. Yet the assumptions fly and the unnecessary tension builds. “I have encountered some jokes. People sometimes call it ‘Arts and crafts,’” said Anna Kim, senior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. “There’s an implication that [Arts and Sciences] is not difficult. I hate that I have to dispel illusion.” Nobody wants to be told that they are less than someone else, and then drop the mic. These guys put in work, too.

“[Prejudice] always exists. It doesn’t have much of a base. It’s just joking,” said Francisco Uzcategur, junior in the Carroll School of Management. Now we’re tip-toeing a line from Uzcategur’s definition of a joke, and into Xu’s definition of discrimination.

“I feel like I’ve heard stuff. People think MCAS is harder [than other schools] if you’re premed,” said Cole VanderWell, a freshman in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. Feeling the judgment as a freshman just starts off four years of discouraging thoughts, but the most depressing part of VanderWell’s statement is that he sees this as a newbie. No wonder people question their major on a weekly basis.

Having a constant Judge Judy on your back can get old. Students, especially freshmen, are looking to find a place for themselves. Having a friend in another school slide a “funny” comment about this school or another creates just as much unnecessary tension as it does humor. It’s not like there’s a house cup, with a magic banner and a spiteful Snape to haunt to you. In the words of Snoop: drop the judgment like it’s hot.