Hi Everyone. My name is Aaron Michalko. I am a senior. I'm optics major and I 'm a Midnight
Rambler. Now just to give you a a brief background on who the Ramblers are if if you don't know.
We are one of four acappella groups on campus, one of two all male, founded in 1998, really
aiming to put on fun, energetic and innovative performances both on and off campus. When
I look back on my college life, I see a defining set of experiences with the Ramblers. It was
as a Rambler that I really grew as an individual leader as well as part of a group. It was
a Rambler that I saw my most successful and um most successful and rewarding times as
well as my most trying and stressful ones, but most importantly as a Rambler that I learned
about identity, particularly on a college campus. Now as a freshman, I came in with
equal mixed parts, excitement and nervousness about the new experience. Quickly formed an
identity with my Freshman Hall, Morgan 5, jumping back and forth between activities,
Red Wing's games and hall programs through orientation. Now I also have musical interest
so I decided to audition for the Midnight Ramblers. And after some last minute practicing,
two pretty fun, but pretty stressful and nerve wracking auditions, I was fortunate enough
to be accepted into the group and I received my jersey. Now when I put on my jersey for
the first time, I became, my image was transformed from that of a confused lanyard wearing freshman
to a Midnight Rambler. All the expectations, stereotypes and potential stigmas associated
with the Ramblers were put on me in that moment. And what I really mean to point out is that
I received my first big label. Now, there is some interesting moments that occur. I
walked that side last time. There are some interesting moments that occur during freshman
year, the first of which I think is the annual you're the best speech given during convication.
For those of you who may of not attended in awhile, I will give you a run-down on how
it goes. Dean Burdig steps up to the podium and says "Welcome Class of 20 Newest". You
are the most successful, the smartest and the best class to have ever come through the
University of Rochester. I get a little offended you you know every time I hear the new time
but. But then it goes on to list off words relating to the applicants and their interview
documents, sorting them down by frequency until finally getting to words that appeared
only on one application or regarding one applicant. Words like, madrigal, alpacas. Now through
one lens these words act to show the diversity of a class but through another they act to
take a complex individual and collapse them into just a one dimensional idea. Now who
was a rich unique applicant in the audience is now just the image of a word. And although
that word gives a broad stroke into his or her interest, it tells nothing of the struggles
of the character and the depth of the experiences of that individual. So fast forward to sophomore
year, classes are now much harder, Hashtag Orgo and as any undergraduate can know, you
had to put the fate of where you live in the dreaded housing lottery. Now, I decided to
choose Res life, my sophomore year as a freshman fellow. Additionally I was elected to be the
mid ah the director of the Midnight Ramblers and on top of a full optics course load I
was pretty nervous about what was to come and in a lot of ways, that year was tough.
First, ah my girlfriend and I had broken up so without the person who I confided in with
for so long I turned to make better connections with the people I knew best on campus who
were the Ramblers. However, soon I realized that I didn't see many people on campus more
than just that group of thirteen or fourteen individual guys and even when I did it was
often as a performer as a Rambler but not really as Aaron. I was looking for personal
connections, people that I could grow with, learn from, argue with but what I found were
surface interactions and just acquaintances. So I I started to become pretty bitter and
frustrated the whole situation I was in and I didn't know where to aim that frustration.
Was it at myself, was it at my friends, was it the school? I ah at some points I even
considered transferring. But after awhile and after mulling over the situation, I started
to sort of see what was going on. And to put it simply, I realized I'd become comfortable
and content with accepting the identity of someone, just as the label of the groups they're
in or what they are involved in on campus instead of judging their true character. Now
what I mean to say is as Nick mentioned, many stud there are over 200, you know 248 and
counting groups on campus and most students joined at least one. However, after a year,
two years, three years, with the added stress of class and the structure of your life it's
so easy that instead of seeing these individuals you just start to see these group names. You
walk around campus you go whop there goes a dancer, there goes a fraternity brother,
there goes a globe a member of globe med, there is a BME, there is an optics major.
Now just like in this "You are The Best" speech, these words really do express broad strokes
of the interests of these people. I am guessing the dancers enjoy dancing but identifying
someone by this this set of external assumptions, this social shorthand, as I was talking with
Kevin yesterday, that he he mentioned that you can start to accept it as an identity
that you see, there's a dancer, she must dress this way, act this way and eventually think
this way until you've transformed your identity and your perception of knowing someone is
just knowing a little about them and extrapolating further instead of knowing little about them
and wanting to dive deeper. Now the idea of labels and stereotypes is one that is pretty
ubicquidus in our culture and often so hackneyed that when it happens around us I would say
we're so dysenthisis? to not even realize. Now I challenge each of you to look around
in this room. Do you see a rich a set of rich, unique individuals with upbringings who speak
to their true characters and how that shapes their perception of the world or do you see
class years, job types. Type cast of who a person should be rather than who they really
are. And with this awareness is how you can step back and start to, sorry I misspoke,
and it is only with the awareness that this is going on that you can try to figure out
ways to combat it. I know, at least for me, meeting new people is hard and the idea of
it is hard. I love to be extroverted, I love to perform, engage people into new conversation.
But behind that extroversion is a lot of insecurity and doubt. Put yourself into a college setting,
you're worrying about homework, classes, who you're going to see, whether you're going
to get to sleep that night and the idea of putting yourself out there to someone is a
pretty intimidating thought. However, if you just step back, remove the unnecessary need
of these labels and stereotypes, you can see that foundationally it's pretty easy and this
is often what often happens in a Freshman Hall. Now Freshman Hall is a wonderful, wonderful
thing and is integral, I think, to the formation of a true U of R campus experience as evidenced
by the multiple gates to chance, Gilbert reunion dinners and what I am sure will be many , many
sentimental group hugs on the last Senior night of the year. But what is a Freshman
Hall other than a group of unique individuals, none of whom knew each other before coming
to college but all of whom were willing to put themselves out there and forge their new
path through the University. A group of blank slates, these students can build their relations
from their foundations up and not from the surface down. And once you recognize this
idea of foundations you start to think, why is that two years, three years later you just
th throw that idea out the window because at their foundations, Rochester students are
all interesting people. On top of that they're interesting people with a desire to improve
themselves, improve the world and hopefully and often times do both. When you approach
someone, instead connecting on these foundational beliefs you can realize that what you thought
they were could be entirely different than who they are. The way I experience this was
in my Junior year I sort of went out on a limb and decided to join the Delta Upsalon
fraternity. Now, I have never seen myself as being a frat brother coming into college.
My perception of what that meant was something I didn't think I would fit in. However, with
the on campus ah with our campus chapter and particularly with my pledge class Alpha Sigh,
I discovered a true brotherhood that I would of otherwise completely overlooked. My experiences
in Delta Upsalon thus far have really changed my view of campus and how I will remember
my experience here at the U of R. Talking with friends of friends, communicating over
people in your major, these are ways to just expand and with a new approach throwing away
and dissolving this idea of superfluous surface labels and stereotypes, you can see the true
person and when meeting that person, they can redefine your college experience. Sometimes
it is as easy as looking past a jersey. Thank you!