When Tennessee native Arthur Kim '08 meets other Brown students from the South, he gives them a hug. Brunonians from Southern states may make up 12 percent of the class of 2010, but Kim said he finds few "real Southerners" among the University's diverse student body.
What, then, makes someone a "real Southerner?" Despite existing stereotypes, political leanings and favorite foods are not defining factors, Kim said. "I've even met real Southerners who didn't like sweet tea!" he said.
Ethnicity is not a determinant either, added Kim, who is Korean-American. Real Southerners, by his definition, are simply those who are proud to come from below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Katie Phillips '10 has no accent, her parents aren't from the South, she doesn't identify with red state politics and she grew up in an urban area not unlike most American cities.
"If you met me, you wouldn't be like 'Oh, you must be from North Carolina,'" the Charlotte native said.
But during the one month she's spent at Brown, where half of her unit mates hail from the Boston area, she said her connection to the South has strengthened. She is also a little worried about the upcoming Providence winter.
Northern winters are part of why Atlanta native Kiersten Derby '07 said she wants to move back to a Southern city after graduate school.
During Orientation interactions rife with awkward first encounters and questions about one's hometown, Derby said her fellow students often expressed curiosity about life in the Bible Belt as well as surprise that she didn't have a strong accent.
"Freshman year I was very defensive of being from the South," Derby said. "A lot of people (here) haven't been to the South, so they have no way of verifying if the stereotypes are true or not."
Kim, who had never considered going to college up North, said he was struck by the assumptions his Brown classmates make about Southerners - that they are "biased, closed-minded and racist," he said. Despite such negative associations, Kim said he thinks his Southern accent gives him an advantage.
"If you put on a decent Southern accent, people tend to think you're friendlier, they trust you more and they underestimate you," he said. "That can be useful."
Now living with two Long Islanders, a Californian and one student from Michigan, Kim said his two years at Brown have underscored his Southern ties. "I didn't realize how deep my loyalties ran," he said. "If anything, my accent has gotten stronger because it's a defense mechanism against talking like people up here."
But being a Southern Republican on Brown's campus, Kim said, would be harder. "Being a Republican from the South stereotypes you even more than being a Democrat," he said.
Chris Pollak '07, a Republican who lives in Beaufort, S.C., agreed. He said any negative experiences he has had at Brown have more to do with his political inclinations than his home state.
"I think I bring that upon myself just because of the way I dress," said Pollak, who wears a cowboy hat and boots, unlike the many Southerners that he says "blend in" at Brown.
But his definition of a "Southerner" doesn't hinge on clothing. "I guess if you're from Virginia on downwards and you're proud of being from the South, then by all means you're a Southerner," Pollak said.
Pollak said he felt like part of a very small club of Southerners when he first arrived at Brown, but once Facebook became popular, the group "Southerners at Brown" made him he realize he wasn't alone.
Curtis Harris '09 said time at Brown gave him a different perspective on his Georgia hometown. Harris comes from a long line of Georgians, and said some of his ancestors were slaves in the state.
"People here (at Brown) are smiley, but down there, they're actually nice," Harris said. "Even some of the most racist people you'll meet are still very nice."
"I have Southern pride," he said. "I don't have the Confederate Southern pride, but I'm proud to be from the South."
Cash McCracken '08 grew up in Memphis, Tenn., but intentionally tried to lose his accent in high school because of the assumption of "ignorance and stupidity" that he said is often associated with it. But McCracken said the word "y'all" "fills a distinct gap in the English language," which has no plural word for "you."
Despite an absent accent, progressive political views and the fact that, unlike his neighbors, he did not grow up going to church, McCracken said he still has Southern pride.
But, "We don't all sit on a porch, talking about the good ol' days and saying 'the South will rise again,'" he said. McCracken added that he enjoyed being among the three Democrats in his high school and one of the few in his extended, "very Southern," family. (He is the descendant of a three-star Confederate general, and his uncle participates in Civil War re-enactments.)
Sierra Salton '09 may be a Texan, but she said her hometown of Gladewater, an hour from Shreveport, La., counts as part of the South. Though many Southerners, like Kim, consider Texas "its own entity," the eastern part of the state where Salton lives has much in common with the Deep South.
"I was definitely in shock the first semester because of all the cultural differences," Salton said. "I kind of feel like I'm studying abroad."
But Salton said she chose to come to Brown because she wanted a change. Few of her high school classmates are now in college, and hardly any came to college in the North.
Salton said her thick Texan accent prompts questions from classmates and acquaintances that often indicate how little her fellow students know of the South. "As soon as (Brown students) meet me, they think I'm a Bush supporter, so I just started introducing myself as 'Hi, I'm Sierra, and I'm from Texas, but I'm not a Republican,'" she said.
Now a tour guide, teaching assistant, captain of the cheerleading team and member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, Salton said she has adjusted to life at Brown, even if some of her commitments are somewhat atypical among Brown students.
"Back home it was an honor to be a cheerleader," Salton said. "(At Brown) I'm in all these things that people hate, sororities and cheerleading, but I can't help who I am."
"I'm definitely not a conformist, but it would be nice to go somewhere where people didn't think you were weird for putting hot rollers in your hair," she said.
