As you know, there's a difference between...
Some of those schools DESERVE their elite statuses, especially because you named an awful lot of top schools. Don't make me laugh about "elitist attitudes" at Ann Arbor, Iowa City, Madison, Mpls, etc. Wisconsin people think awful highly about their school, some deserved, some not, but all in all Wisconsin people are a lot more down to earth than UVa people. By the way, how many UVa people do you know that rape road kill deer or eat people's bodies and brains? Woud an elitist do that? Exactly.
The point is, UVa has a very high percentage of "elitists" for being the kind of school that it is. They're not Harvard or Berkeley.
If you want to talk about snobs in the Big Ten, you could make a small case about Purdue or Northwestern. Maybe. And by the way, I never said ALL UVa people.
...attending an elite school and being an elitist. Most (not all) students or graduates of the aforementioned schools would consider their school "elite." Nothing wrong with that. Some (not all) of those who attend/attended those same schools would fall into the "elitist" category. For better or worse, the world is full of elitists. Some elitists (whatever their alma mater) carry themselves with more dignity than others; others with quite a bit less decorum - on that point I think we both can agree.
I'm perplexed, though, by your comment: "The point is, UVa has a very high percentage of "elitists" for being the kind of school that it is. They're not Harvard or Berkeley."
Actually, UVa is a lot closer to the "elite" level then you might think. UVa is acknowledged by most publications (e.g., Princeton Review; US News and World Report) as one of the top two public universities in the U.S. (UC-Berkeley usually is ranked number 1; UVa #2). Second, UVa (along with institutions such as UC-Berkeley, Michigan, the College of William and Mary, UNC Chapel Hill, and UT-Austin) is one of the original eight "public Ivies." FWIW, Greene's Guides considers Minnesota one of the 30 "public Ivies." So, I have no problem comparing UVa to Harvard or Berkeley in the same sentence. Elite they are indeed!
FWIW, I know of no UVa person who has raped road kill deer or eaten people's body or brains, just as I know of no Minnesota, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, or Stanford grad who has done that. I have seen octupi thrown at Harvard hockey players, and a live chicken tied to the Harvard goal between periods. Elitist, or just a typical student prank played against one of your school's most hated rivals? Surely you experienced the same types of pranks in your college days! Surely that was never done against our Iowa or Wisconsin friends?
Elitist, or college kids having fun? Methinks the latter.
I, too, was at the Music City Bowl. Since I bought the tickets from the Gopher ticket office, my UVa daughter, father, and I sat in the Minnesota section. Nothing but good vibes from my fellow Gopher fans. Did I hear some drunk UVa supporter spout off after the game? Yup, just like I heard a bunch of drunk UC-Berkeley students shouting obscenities from their apartments and fraternity houses after that debacle...er, game. The response was easy: "Nice C-L-ASS!"
Send me a private message. I can't figure out how to do that, and it might be prudent to continue our discussion off-line rather than in the public forum. Thanks.
