Earlier this week, the sky lit up with hues of pink and green as the Northern Lights twisted and whirled across campus. The Bald Spot was filled with all kinds of students staring up at the stars to get a glimpse of the aurora borealis. Neither I nor the people around me had ever seen them be so clear, as a long exposure picture wasn’t even necessary to see them wiggle throughout the sky. “Ooos” and “aaas” alike were heard across campus as every person outside took in the beauty of Mother Nature. As I stood in the middle of the quad surrounded by my friends, I felt immense gratitude for the moment and for Carleton as a whole.
Often, I feel that Carleton has a large bubble encompassing all parts of campus, including everyone who works and lives within it. It seems that everything that occurs here is unique to campus life, and no one can quite understand it from the outside. From the frisbee-obsessed student population to Spoon Assassin to horses (often) on the Bald Spot, Carleton is quite the eccentric place to be.
It’s not that the bubble is exclusive or impossible to penetrate; instead, it’s that once you’re inside it, the outskirts feel like they’re unreachable. I have become so deeply immersed in the world of Carleton that I forget what is happening outside of our campus. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely a privilege, but it can also be isolating. This isolation is contentious as students constantly gripe about missing out on what lies outside the bubble, but it is also championed by those who celebrate the charm of small-town life.
Part of the existence of this bubble is due to the college’s location. The rurality of Northfield contributes to this feeling of separation from thriving urban life. Then comes the nature of Carleton itself, a small, liberal-arts school that aims to build a vibrant on-campus community. Carleton has a philosophy that emphasizes a tight-knit community, one that is curious, kind and collaborative. This mission statement creates this bubble, as it is a specific type of person who chooses to become a Carl.
I am a student tour guide for the admissions office, and I have found it fascinating while leading tours over the term how prospective students and parents react to immersing themselves within Carleton’s campus for the first time. At the end of almost every tour, someone will come up to me and express their disbelief at how friendly everyone on campus seemed.
Last week, the mom of a prospective student asked me at the end of the tour, “Do you just know everyone on campus?” Her question was about how many people waved or smiled at me as our tour walked through Sayles, the library and the entire campus. I kindly told her that I definitely do not know everyone, not even close, but that people here simply want to greet you as you pass by. We are the kind of school with the type of people who don’t forget your name after one discussion group together, and “a friend of a friend” is truly just your friend.
It may sound sappy, but there is so much truth behind this, and it is embraced and expressed in every aspect of life at Carleton. Carls are more than friendly; they want to get to know you on a deeper level.
We end each of our tours by asking ourselves the following question: Why did I choose Carleton in the first place? My answer is always simple: I decided on Carleton because of the people. From the moment I set foot on campus, I could feel this warmth ingrained into each individual that passed me by, in every classroom I stepped foot in and every smile I saw. I could feel myself enter this bubble of humaneness and amiability, filled with inquisitive individuals who care deeply about those around them.
As I finish the Fall Term of my sophomore year, I realize that I have an extensive appreciation for the opportunity and privilege to live within this bubble over four years, and during my most transformative years at that. Not only have I learned a substantial amount in the classroom about how to carry myself as an academic, but more importantly, I have grasped how to carry myself as an individual.
Yes, the Carleton bubble can seem to be a suffocating phenomenon, but it is a phenomenon that must be embraced in order to understand its full potential. Students here spend only a fraction of their adult lives on campus, meaning bubble inhabitants must immerse themselves within the community to discover these lifelong relationships that will then extend outward, past the boundaries of Northfield.
