The Collegian

Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Joel Pavelski Outspoken

Media Credit: Joel Pavelski Free Spirit

Media Credit: Liz Essley Critic

Media Credit: William Clayton Whatever

The actions and thoughts students perform upon first entering Hillsdale College often determine what people expect from them until graduation. Such reputations - be they good, bad or indifferent - are what makes specific Hillsdale students recognizable. Given the size of campus, they can also stick with students longer than desired. Cultivated or conquered, campus reputations are a real force at Hillsdale.

"A reputation functions similar to a brand name," said senior Gennady Stolyarov II. "It creates certain expectations for a person, and if well-cultivated, can give people impressions of who you are."

Stolyarov is no stranger to having a reputation at Hillsdale. The outspoken senior is well-known for wearing full dress suits every day, mastering even the hardest of classes and asking complex questions during the CCAs. Rather than fight others' perceptions of him, Stolyarov said, he learned long ago that perpetuating such stereotypes would be more beneficial.

"I try to convey that I am a hard-working, serious, no-nonsense person with the image I create," Stolyarov said. "It shows I am ready to face any problem and help improve the world."

Such a pursuit has not always been easy. Stolyarov's image forbids jeans and other clothing that hints at informality. Most of his music consists solely of classical pieces. Even his thinking must be monitored - Stolyarov tries avoiding colloquialisms so that his thoughts retain a timeless quality. By doing these things, Stolyarov said, he has occasionally drawn criticism.

"I pick and choose what I do for myself and that is probably obnoxious to some people," he said. "No matter what one does, one might step on some toes."

Despite any friction that Stolyarov's reputation has caused, he maintains that it has been a benefit, not a detriment, toward his college career. Stolyarov said that by earning a reputation for intelligence and decorum, people treat him with respect.

"At Hillsdale I have been well-received by my professors as I have a genuine interest in what they are teaching," Stolyarov said. "I think my reputation has assisted me in my time here."

The same holds true for sophomore Laura Golden, renowned for her dreadlocks. By possessing a different hairstyle, she said, many friendships and good conversations have been ignited which might not have happened otherwise.

"In all honesty, my dreadlocks are a great way of meeting people here on campus," Golden said. "For everyone at Hillsdale, my dreads are a part of who I am."

Though her reputation is generally a positive one, Golden said at times it can lead into minor misunderstandings. Peers ignorant of dreadlock care occasionally ask if she washes her hair (she does - every other day). The style's Rastafarian connotations, meanwhile, have made some wonder if she does drugs (she does not). Golden said that when such questions arise, she deals with them via humor and kindness rather than anger.

"For those judging me and my dreadlocks, I do not care," she said. "All assumptions are gone once people get to know me."

Occasionally such assumptions can drastically hurt. One female freshman has learned this the hard way in her brief time at Hillsdale. The younger sister of a studious sorority member, this girl said she regrets earning a hard-partying reputation during her first semester on campus. She now tries battling negative connotations her name has by toning down her behavior and quelling rumors.

"Being a lowly freshman, people associate me with the partying I did on weekends," she said. "It is too bad people see only one thing when they look at me and that is it."

As a means of eliminating the stigma she accrued, the freshman now stays away from most parties and paces her alcohol intake at the few she does attend. Beyond that, she buckled down towards last semester's end and pulled off a 3.7 GPA.

"I do not want the reputation I have, as I do not think that having a reputation is a good thing by any means," she said. "I am trying to make a better me by repairing some of the damage."

Despite her work, the freshman maintains it has been an uphill struggle. A combination of her sister's preexisting reputation and Hillsdale's tightly-knit campus has made progress slow at best.

"Remember the television show 'Cheers' and how everyone knows your name?" she asked. "Hillsdale is like that except everyone knows your business."

Regardless of the outcome, the student said that her experiences can perhaps teach others the value of empathy over discrimination.

"Reputations are a surface perception, something which shorts the person whose reputation you accept as being who they are," she said. "At the end of the day, reputations limit who we can be to other people."

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