A Student’s Opinion on Reality Television’s Portrayal of College Students

MTV's College Life is one of the lamest excuses of a college “reality” show I’ve ever seen. The show follows four freshmen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during their first year. They record everything with a personal camcorder. There’s no production crew following them around or anything like that, which is great. It’s more honest than say—The Real World. (However, with that said, the producers can easily twist footage and make situations look very different than they really are.) I have respect for these kids. Being famous, even for 15 minutes, can be exhausting (trust me, I know). But, I have some issues with College Life.

1. There is NO diversity in this show.

There are four freshmen. Three of them are white. The one who isn’t “white” is half-white, and he grew up in a white neighborhood, so he doesn’t identify himself as black or otherwise. All four of them are heterosexuals. If I recall properly, only one of them mentioned getting an academic scholarship, which means most of them are financially sound. According to UW-Madison’s Enrollment Report from their Registrar’s Office website, there are over 5,000 students at UW-Madison who identify as “minority” during the 2008-2009 spring semester, and 481 of them are freshmen.

It’s important to remember, though, that this only includes ethnicities and not other things like sexuality and religion. Granted, I know we go to one of the most diverse universities in the country, but I never realized how much that has affected us as students. We’re taught from day one that we’re diverse and that we celebrate it. How different would your college experience be if you went to a university that was predominantly one ethnicity, religion, gender—just one of something?

I think I’d go crazy. By being at a diverse university, we’re able to hear different stories and ideas from different cultures and backgrounds that can teach us more about what we’re learning about. I know that in many classes I’ve been in, students have raised points based on their background and have taught the class, including the professor, a thing or two.

I think this show could be relatable to a wider range of high school and college students if there were differences in the characters.

2. The characters

I’ve met these people in my own world. Yes, there are always girls with boy issues, boys who drink in their dorm and boys who don’t have school spirit. However, couldn’t we have found some other “types” of people? There are over 39,000 students at UW-Madison as of the 2008-2009 spring semester, and 2,647 of them are freshmen. I’m sure there were some other interesting people at that school. There has to be.

3. Stereotypes

I also feel that shows like College Life stereotype the college experience. Girls are expected to have boy problems from day one, and boys fall into two categories: “frat guys” or “not frat guys.” Everyone’s expected to drink and to do so unsafely, and everyone’s expected to go to the big football game and pregame before that. And then, you’ll get a call from home and you’ll have to give bad news: you’re failing a class or getting kicked out of the dorm or you’re pregnant.

Or they give you bad news: your dog died or you have to pay tuition next semester or they’re not proud of your grades or they remind you you’re on a scholarship and you could lose it all and work in a low-paying job. I know these things really happen. They do. But, how many times have we seen that in movies or other TV shows?

They are part of this “ideal” college experience. I know I speak for myself, and most of my friends, when I say that this isn’t real. That isn’t the college life.

4. Location, location, location

I’m sure that UW-Madison is a great school. However, it’s only one school. And it’s one school that has a reputation. It has a “college town” vibe and the students are aware of where they are. Wouldn’t this show have been more interesting if it showed different types of colleges? How cool would it have been to see four freshmen from four different schools?

One from the east coast, one from the west coast, one from the northwest and one from the southwest. How much more could we have learned from each other and about other types of schools? Why not pick a university like, I don’t know, George Mason University? I think some of the stuff that happened in the Park is a thousand times more interesting than seeing Alex (one of the girls from the show) cry about boys three weeks into her college career—not that it doesn’t happen or make good TV, but there’s a lot more going on at a university than just parties and crying about boys.

5. Follow-up show

Can we get a show called Adult Life following four recent college graduates as they attempt to find jobs in this economy and they end up moving back in with their parents and wait tables for six months? I’d tune into the season premiere—right after The Hills.

My point is that College Life, to me, represents an idea of college that I never experienced. Do I feel scammed because of it? No. I’m so glad that I went to a university like Mason where things like drinking, boy drama and big games (FINAL FOUR! WOO!) just happened, but didn’t consume my life.

Ryan Allen
Senior, Communication