While I agreed with the plea to live life to its fullest, as articulated by Nelson Del Tufo ’25 in his response to the op-ed by Shoshie Hemley ’25 on the study abroad experience, I was surprised to see him support one of the most glaring issues I found in Hemley’s piece: her depiction of students at state schools as “ignorant, mean, and altogether unpleasant.” Or as Del Tufo more delicately puts it, “Most students do not care about school nearly as much as the average Williams student.” While I can’t dispute the particular experiences Del Tufo and Hemley had with other students while abroad, I think it’s fair to critique their perception of students at state schools as lesser than — an opinion that I find elitist and closed-minded. If the U.S. News Best Colleges List determines who you speak to, you close yourself off from meeting a massive group of interesting people with much to offer you intellectually.
I had the pleasure of studying abroad last spring in Copenhagen at a 2,000-student program, which consisted mostly of students attending state schools. While there, I lived in an apartment complex with nearly all non-American students, ranging from first-years at Copenhagen Business School to music students in the last year of their doctorates. As a result, I interacted with a wide variety of students from all different backgrounds and areas of study. I didn’t care what school they went to or what their grades were. I was willing to talk to anyone, and as it turns out, so were they. This mindset led to some of the closest friendships I’ve ever formed blossoming over the course of only a few months, and for that I’m incredibly grateful.
Many of my experiences with these new friends consisted of “seeing new things, listening to loud music, and drinking in novel places,” as Del Tufo endorsed. But that wasn’t all we’d do. As we explored Copenhagen, my “frat bro” roommate would share tidbits about city planning he’d learned from his urban livability course. He’s a chemistry student. A Danish friend of mine would share his insights on the Kierkegaard pieces I’d been reading for class. He’s a microbiology student. The people I met were academically curious and interested — a perfect image of the liberal arts — and that informed the experiences I had with them.
Like Hemley, I chose to come to Williams because I love academics. But of the hundreds of college students I’ve met, not one has been reluctant to share their area of expertise with me, regardless of the ranking or status of their academic institution. Whether we as Williams students view them as our intellectual equals or not, other students are passionate about the research they do and the courses they take, and I challenge you to ask them about it. You may learn something or find some common interest. My experience abroad was certainly as intellectually and academically stimulating as my experience here, and that’s largely due to the “ignorant, mean, and altogether unpleasant” people with whom I spent time.
I was disappointed to read Hemley’s perspective on the typical “state schoolers” she grew up around: “students [who] would regularly pass out drunk on [her] front lawn.” I too am from the midwest and attended a massive public high school far larger than Williams. Most of the peers I grew up with went on to attend Big Ten schools. The camp I worked at during my collegiate summers employed nearly all Big Ten students. I’ve met and grown up with the people passed out drunk on Hemley’s lawn, and I wouldn’t be the same person or academic I am today without them. We Williams students could judge them for their drunken antics, but then we’d all be hypocrites. What Williams student hasn’t thrown up in their first-year dorm or stumbled home from Hoxsey? We’re college students, after all. I don’t think we’re all that different.
I’ll close this piece with the story of my favorite night in Copenhagen — my last. My friends and I attended a party at Folkets Hus, a formerly squatted, user-controlled house that is now a hotbed of youth activism and culture. After a long night embroiled in hard techno within graffiti-filled walls, I stepped outside for some fresh air. My eyes shifted to the stars in silent reflection and were surprisingly met with the majesty of the Northern Lights. I immediately alerted my friends, and we scrambled to find a better viewing spot. We made our way to the nearby patch of grass beside the Assistens Cemetery, the burial site of many famous Danish academics and artists. As we laid in the grass and stared at the beautiful cosmos, surrounded by the ghosts of Denmark’s brightest minds, we mused about the meaning of life and our place in the universe, the abroad equivalent of Del Tufo’s “pseudo-intellectual Snar conversions.” I never had to “live outside of a community of like-minded peers” in Copenhagen because I had found one.
While I know I may have been lucky to find students so intellectually and academically gifted while I was abroad or where I grew up, I would like to think that’s not the case. There are legions of smart and capable intellectuals all over the world, waiting to have mind-blowing conversations with you. All you have to do is step down from your Williams College high-horse, scroll a bit down the U.S. News Best Colleges List, and engage with them.
Will Olsen ’25 is a computer science and English major from Glenview, Ill.
