What is more competitive at SMU: academics or the walk to class? Why do kids here get dressed up everyday and carry book bags worth hundreds of dollars? What are they competing for, given that the Gucci bags and $70,000 Mercedes do not buy grades? What does this materialistic drive earn students, and why does SMU seem to be more extreme than other schools?
The reason, according to many SMU students, is quite simple: The campus culture encourages conspicuous consumption.
“Most people probably had these things before they came to SMU, but since labels are everywhere here, they feel more pressure to buy more,” Morgan Thaxton, a sophomore art history major, said. “People here like to promote what they are able to have.”
The evidence of Thaxton’s observations are everywhere. On campus there are more BMWs than at any given dealership. Prada is a household name, as well as a name that is commonly walked all over since many girls here have no problem buying a pair of shoes that cost more than a semester’s worth of books. Conspicuous consumption is a coed matter, as many SMU guys drive pricey cars and wear jeans that cost over $150.
“I wear Diesel jeans because I like how they look and they’re comfortable. I wore them before I came to SMU,” sophomore finance major Jeffrey Kleinops said.
Although dodging Louis Vuitton book bags the size of compact cars occurs quite often at SMU, not every student here drives a car worth a decade’s salary. These students do not conform to the conspicuous consumption as their classmates do. They do not care that they’re not wearing $150 Seven jeans.
“I like the fact that I don’t have a skewed perception of reality like most of these kids here,” Andrew Kaplan, a junior advertising major, said. “This school is more full of rich, upper-class kids than any other type of people.”
Paul Mielcarek, a sophomore majoring in corporate communications, felt the same way.
“I don’t care,” he said. “I think it’s fun to laugh at everyone because they all look the same. I don’t think I have changed since I’ve been here.”
Thaxton agreed. “I like high quality things,” she said. “They look nice and the quality pays off in the long run.”
Charlotte Reardon transferred from Villanova University to begin her sophomore year at SMU. Though Villanova, like SMU, has a reputation for being image-obsessed, Reardon says that SMU is much more extreme than Villanova.
“Kids here, especially girls, are more concerned with their looks than at Villanova,” she said.
Although there are some students at SMU who choose to laugh at instead of conform to the image SMU portrays, the sidewalks will most likely continue to overflow with purses and shoes costing several hundred dollars. There is no need to see spring fashion in Milan–just come to SMU.
“This is definitely the most spoiled school in America,” said Kaplan. “I’d be willing to research that.”
