By Natalie Williams
The jock, the nerd, the California-rich-kid, the liberal, the home-schooled and the pretty-boy are all stereotypes branded on -- and by -- BYU students every day.
'There are all sorts of stereotypes at BYU,' said Krista Martin, 20, from Corvallis, Ore. 'We stereotype based on how people dress, the majors people are in and the clubs people are in. Like the Medieval club -- we typically think of them as people with long, unbrushed, uncut hair, wearing the costumes and stuff, but I''m sure they''re so much more than that.'
'It just happens because people don''t want to reach out and see what other people are like,' said Tiffany Robins, 20, from Provo. 'It''s like saying, ''I don''t like you, and I don''t want to have to think about you.'''
'You see people who are dressed nicely-they have their hair bleached, they have their teeth bleached, and you think of them as being kind of ditsy and kind of air headed,' Monica Beauchamp, 20, from Stilwell, Kan. said. On the flipside 'you see girls who are kind of frumpy and you think they''re probably nerdy, probably not very cool.'
Beauchamp said she thinks she stereotypes people more than she should.
'If people are dressed nice, I''m usually more inclined to be friendly to them,' Beauchamp said. 'Not because I think they''re better people, but I''ll definitely be more amiable with someone who''s dressed well as opposed to someone who''s dressed extremely frumpily or really dirty. I''m more comfortable with that.'
Robins agrees there are certain stereotypes she makes.
'There''s the stereotypical rich California kids who dress nicely and are dumb,' she said. 'Then there are the skaters who are kind of the ''outside'' people. And the nerdy people who wear sick old clothes, like big dresses, blouses and stuff.'
'There''s the stereotype against guys who wear socks with sandals -- that they''re all nerds,' said Joel O''Neill, 24, an advertising and marketing major. 'And I''m not saying they''re not, because they probably are.'
O''Neill said he feels there aren''t that many people at BYU who are ultra-trendy.
'Everyone is pretty much wearing the same thing -- guys in polo shirts, jeans, and basketball shoes -- which is kind of dorky if you think about it. Girls wear a variety of things, but always in pants. But I guess that''s just the Honor Code.'
All too often, however, stereotyping can incorrectly ''brand'' people.
'As an African-American, we might be thought of as wearing baggy jeans and a football or basketball jersey,' said Jamar Knox, 23, from Jackson, Tenn. 'That''s kind of a misconception. We wear suits, normal jeans, polo shirts, whatever.'
Knox said he grew up watching the media and how they stereotyped specific groups of people.
It''s a natural inclination to jump the gun and shove someone into a stereotype learned from the media, Knox said.
'But it''s not always the case, because everyone is an individual and not everyone fits into the molds the media presents,' he said.
Some students said they think people want to be stereotyped -- that they want to be identified with something.
'Lots of times people try to make statements by wearing certain things,' Martin said. 'Someone who dresses kind of crazy and doesn''t really care how they look wants people to think they''re all crazy and don''t care.'
'People want other people to assume things about how they look to a certain degree,' she said.
'I think a lot of times people want to be stereotyped so they act or dress a certain way-as a musician, a snowboarder, a nerd, etc.,' said Jason Kim, 22, from Brandon, Fla. 'Every one wants to fit into some kind of group. It''s not really a search for acceptance, but more like belonging to something that you think is important.'
What about the stereotypes that surround hometowns or home states?
'Because I''m from Oregon, and I don''t match my clothes -- a lot of times people think I''m all liberal, and a vegetarian and stuff,' Martin said. 'Some of it may be true, but not to the extent people think. I love meat!'
Oregon may be branded as a 'tree-hugging, frisbee-throwing, wannabe-hippie' location, but what about those 'rich-kid Californians?'
'When my roommate Laura found out I was from California (before we moved in together), she was so sure I was going to be blonde, ditzy, have a computer, a TV, a VCR, a DVD and everything,' said Jessica Skanchy, 19, from San Diego, Calif. 'But I didn''t. And I''m also not blonde. , she was really disappointed when I wasn''t rich.'
'I think people think about Californians differently,' said Peter Thompson, 21, also from the San Diego area. 'I think they think that Californians are kind of stuck up and think highly of themselves.'
'I think it is the case sometimes. Not necessarily for me, but for a lot of Californians -- they think they''re better than people from other states,' Thompson said.
Robins said, 'Because I''m from Provo, people think I''m going to have no idea what a gay person is, or what drugs are. But lots of my friends are those things, or use those things -- I stereotype them as that or doing that because they fit the mold really well.
'A lot of times people think, ''Oh, you''re from Provo, you''re going to be an idiot.'' Kind of like someone who was home-schooled,' Robins said.
But what about those who were home-schooled?
'Every time I meet someone and they find out I was home-schooled, they''re like, ''Oh really?! You''re the most normal home-schooler I''ve ever met,''' Beauchamp said. 'It''s kind of a backhanded compliment, like they''re saying, ''You''re normal for a weird person.'' There''s a definite stereotype that goes with being home schooled.'
But what about local addresses? Is there stereotyping based on where a student lives in Provo?
You bet, O''Neill said.
O''Neill has lived at the Belmont for the past year and a half and said he gets weird looks whenever he tells people he lives there.
'I''ve heard some pretty mean things about how snooty the people are that live there,' O''Neill said. 'That is not the case. I think there are snooty people everywhere. I don''t think there''s any particular complex that is snootier than another that''s not.'
'A lot of people who live east of 900 East say that people who live south of campus are all ''Molly Mormons'' and ''Peter Priesthoods,''' O''Neill said. 'That''s another stereotype that''s pretty prominent at BYU.'
Martin agrees there is a stereotype based on where you live.
'There''s a big difference between the Belmont and Glenwood,' she said.
Stereotyping extends beyond what a person wears and where he or she lives, Knox said.
'If you''re from a certain part of the country, like the South, you''re going to like country music,' he said. 'Or if you''re from the city, you''re going to like hip-hop. If you''re from maybe a little town in Utah you listen to the MoTab.'
Knox laughed when he realized he was stereotyping in trying to find an example of stereotyping.
Knox also said he thinks someone with a Southern accent might not be viewed as smart as someone who speaks with a Utah or a Northeast accent.
Many agree there are both positive and negative effects to stereotyping.
Sometimes it''s helpful in making first impressions, Beauchamp said.
'It may help you decide a little bit how to act,' she said. 'For example, if someone looks really shady, then you want to be careful around them.
'But most times, I think they probably do more harm than good as far as how we treat people,' Beauchamp continued. 'A lot of the times, they don''t turn out to be true.'
'Stereotypes are not beneficial because individuality has turned into making someone weird, but at the same time it''s impossible to be totally individual,' Kim said. 'I think the worst part about it is that people start thinking like each other and they don''t form any real opinions or beliefs about anything. BYU is a perfect example.'
No matter what, Knox said he believes every place will have stereotypes -- stereotypes it receives and stereotypes it casts on others.
Looking past the outer shell is the true key to finding out who and what someone really is, Robins said.
At first put off by a girl in one of her classes with 'dyed black hair and crazy makeup,' Robins didn''t feel a desire to get to know her classmate until they were assigned as lab partners.
'She''s probably the nicest girl I''ve met there,' Robins said.
We need to start reaching out to those different than we are, Robins said. 'Sometimes we might be surprised by what we find.'