When I first started looking at colleges during my senior year of high school, there were a few things I deemed non-negotiables. Among these were warm weather, at least 20,000 undergraduate students and easy access to a big city. Colgate University might seem like an odd choice for me after assessing my preferences and, honestly, it surprised most people when I told them where I was going. I surprised myself.
One thing that Colgate students are constantly complaining about is the fact that we are all stuck in the middle of nowhere. Drive five minutes in any different direction off campus and fields and forests surround you. We spend four years of our lives on a tiny campus in the middle of farmland, with Syracuse, N.Y., an hour away. Getting to and from the airport to get home during breaks is no simple task. Beautiful campus aside, this isolation is something that we Colgate students often find ourselves disparaging. But what if we looked at the whole thing differently?
Colgate’s rural campus and distance from the bustle of any city or major township do more for us than we tend to remember. There are a few reasons why. One of these reasons is simply the beauty of this campus and the area around it. The winding roads, the deep colors of the fall leaves as the weather changes, the open fields, the horses and cows, Taylor Lake and so many others. As we spend more and more time here, maybe we forget to notice these things, but there is nothing quite like watching the sunset from up the hill or staring at the vibrant stars untainted by light pollution. If that’s not convincing enough, the distance from a major or even small city is something that not only gives Colgate such natural beauty but also gives Colgate students a reason to really get to know one another, as we are almost forced to bond with each other in every part of our day to day lives.
At many bigger schools, a major divide exists between the upperclassmen and underclassmen, mostly due to social dynamics. By senior year, many people drift away from social scenes to venture into nearby cities or spend time doing other activities. At Colgate, that option simply does not exist. Instead of being stuck in this place together, we see the same people weekend after weekend, day after day, and we are put in a position to bond in a way that students at bigger schools with non-isolated locations never get the chance to do. The bonds we create will carry with us for the rest of our lives. This comes partly from the fact that our campus is so removed from any sort of urban center. Instead, we spend time with the same people, wander into town to get breakfast at two or three different options of restaurants and run into everyone we know at our one grocery store and one pharmacy. While yes, there are moments when this campus seems too small and remote, it also gives us friendships we will never forget.
One thing I regularly talk to my friends at Colgate about is that I do not notice people from home having the same passion for or closeness to their school. The same can be said about their schools’ alumni. There is something so unique about the deep love that people have for this institution and this place; the location and its distance from what we jokingly call civilization help create that. So, the next time you walk up the hill, take a drive around Hamilton or get ready with your friends to do the same thing you did last weekend, take a moment to appreciate where you are and remember how lucky we are to go to school in the middle of nowhere.
