I'm sure you've all seen our list of the preppiest colleges in America. All are first rate institutions where our crowd can meet more of their own and thrive, both socially and academically. We've no doubt it feels great to be a waspy Exiter grad at Trinity or the great-grandson of a southern oil baron at Hampden-Sydney, but what about those of us who didn't end up at such preppy schools? America, particularly the northeast, is full of top liberal arts colleges. While schools such as Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan may not carry the historical cache as Harvard, Yale and Princeton, but the many, many fine students among us who fail to make the cut for the Ivy League, they provide a very nice alternative. They may even be more appealing for the more intellectual students who seek a smaller class setting and more intimate overall experience. One such institution is New York's Sarah Lawrence College. Nestled among the luxurious mansions of Westchester, just 15 minutes from Manhattan, Sarah Lawrence has always appealed to students who want to be close to the city without being directly in it. Despite it's Bronxville address, the campus is by no means in the Bronx, but is literally located across the street from several impressive mansions. The most impressive of these mansions, though, is located directly on the campus (pictured above) and is home to the school's admissions office, as well as some dormitories. That's right, some students actually get to live in that building, which was one once to Sarah Lawrence herself, and her husband William, a very successful New York attorney. The school has changed considerably throughout the years, though. It was founded as an all-girls institution, and quickly became of bastion for daughters of privilege destined to become trophy wives to wealthy New York men. This did not last, however. The school eventually went co-ed, and in our present day, Sarah Lawrence has become arguably one of the most liberal colleges in the country. A friend of mine from prep school who is currently a student there, says he has never felt accepted as a waspy son of New England in the social scene, which is dominated by political correctness. He also adds that clothing items and accessories such as Lacoste polos and Sperry Top-Siders are almost never seen on the campus and terms like "Nantucket Reds" are unheard of. "My nickname" he added "is literally The Wasp. People also love to make fun of all the pastels I wear. For a preppy kid, it's a fairly hostile environment. If you talk about Vineyard Vines, they get very insulting." There's just enough of us for it to be noticeable, though, if you look hard enough." When asked what the typical fashion styles on his campus were like, he replied 90% of the campus, both male and female, only wears combat boots. Most of the men just seem to wear skinny jeans, old plaid shirts, and beanies. I guess you'd call it hipster."
As someone who is no stranger to such a scenario, I applaud him, and all other like him, for bringing our signature trad style to an environment that clearly needs it.
