By Tim Rath and Masudur Rahman

Sports Editor and

Senior Reporter

Walking through the Oakland Center at any given time, the similarities of the student body of Oakland University are easy to see. We’re all part of a growing institution that’s on the fast track to the big time.

However, there are many differences between us. Apart from the usual divisions in age, sex and race, we also differ in our choices of majors, social groups and campus organizations. One of the most striking differences is all too apparent during welcome week: the excitement levels of first-year Golden Grizzlies.

For some, admission to OU is cause for celebration, as it represents the traditional college experience at an affordable price. For others, OU was their second or third choice, (if not lower down the line).

This chasm of belief systems has been unexplored for far too long. Should OU students be proud to be Golden Grizzlies? That will be the topic of a point-counterpoint debate, with senior reporter Masudur Rahman taking the pro-OU point and Sports Editor Tim Rath taking the anti-OU counterpoint.

Masudur: It’s obvious, Tim, that we should be proud to be OU students. OU provides a better academic experience than a lot of the bigger universities because of its smaller class sizes, which often translates to a more intimate setting and more contact with the professor, resulting in a deeper understanding of the material.

But you wouldn’t know anything about intimacy, would you, Tim? As a pathetic loner whose idea of a college experience is skipping class to sit in your dorm room, listening to heavy industrial music while your peers are out learning and having fun, you more than likely enjoy larger class sizes as it gives you more people to stalk on Facebook. Please, spare us your drivel and go find a girlfriend.

Tim: Masudur, you ranting, raving lunatic. Granted, the smaller environment that OU provides may make for a better experience, but at what cost? This week, hundreds of college football programs will kick off in a display of university pride and student unity. The smaller nature of our school that you champion does not provide the funding necessary for a football team and as such, we are left wandering campus aimlessly on Saturday afternoons, left out of all the fun that a larger university can provide.

However, this feeling must be nothing new to you, Masudur, as The Oakland Post’s resident yuppie/hippie amalgamation, whose idea of fun on a Saturday afternoon is tossing the Frisbee back and forth to yourself in front of one of the Greek cottages on a sugar rush from your caramel Frappuccino, hoping and praying for some company.

Masudur: Your misguided attempt at humor aside, Tim, you mentioned one of my deeper points of contention. While OU’s four fraternities and six sororities serve their purpose, a larger Greek presence could be a detriment to the social independence that we have as Golden Grizzlies. We don’t need social hierarchies like the ones we had in our high schools.

A quick visit to the infamous juicycampus.com reveals the true cost of admission to a larger university: not just thousand of dollars more in tuition, but also your reputation. Anonymous users engage in cutthroat slander as casually as the Frisbee games that you decry.

I’m glad OU isn’t at the level of the Big Ten schools on juicycampus.com as itdoesn’t have a listing on that website. This is great because in tune with having a life outside of my bedroom, I really don’t need to know how many STDs you’ve accrued over the years, Tim.

Tim: Masudur, I thought you were proud to be an investigative reporter and yet, a simple discussion of the dirtiest gossip on campus turns your stomach? That’s enough to turn my own stomach!

Darwinian social networking is the best part of the traditional undergraduate experience. Lifetime friends are to be had for those who can survive the meat grinder of the rumor mil, and not only that, it prepares us for the harsh realities of the professional world in a way that seeing how many people can fit into a telephone booth simply cannot.

Juicycampus.com’s vicious tabloids also provide hours of entertainment for those on OU’s campus as bored as I am, those that simply cannot find amusement in your lame attempts at reciting poetry in the fields outside of Kresge Library. By the way, the tests were all negative.

Masudur: I really didn’t need do know that, Tim. But for what it’s worth, you made yet another one of my points for me. Those fields outside of Kresge Library that I recite (genius) poetry in are a mere snapshot of the beautiful landscape that surrounds us as we study. Try comparing that to the cold concrete and steel environment of a more “traditional undergraduate experience” like that of Wayne State University. And if lush, gorgeous greenery is not your thing, you can also take a short hike to enjoy the offerings of downtown Rochester.

However, I’m sure that there’s no pleasing you with this multitude of options, you spoiled brat. You were probably complaining as you fed from a silver spoon, “Where’s the platinum?” I’m sure you would cry.

Tim: Masudur, you fool. I do enjoy the options that the Rochester area offers, however, one that I would particularly enjoy is an option to park close to my classes. The tree-hugging that you triumph causes nothing but trouble for typical folk like myself, those that find more pleasure in the din of big-city life than the nothingness of nature. I’ve had to replace five pairs of shoes since I started at OU last year, but I’m sure that’s of no concern to you, who can just ask mommy and daddy for a new pair of No Sweats and a motorized scooter when times are tough. Sorry, the rest of us have to work for a living!

Masudur: Just because I live with my parents to save money doesn’t mean that I don’t have a job — in fact, I have two. I think it’s great that OU is mostly a commuter school. It makes for an easier transition for high school students and makes it a little bit easier for them to resist some of the temptations in college. Also, it allows students to save some money in this troubling economy and lets students wanting to invest in their future spend their limited funds on their education rather than a crazy, four-year-long booze party.

Tim: Masudur, you’ve just exposed the crux of the problem. College is meant to be complicated and crazy. The more convenient you make it now, the less memorable it will be in the long run. Commuting may be easier and save on cash, but it takes away from the traditional college experience that we need at our age, and will need when we’re older for some memories to fall back on.

In conclusion:

Although the debate certainly won’t end there, the best solution appears to be either trying to improve the situation that we’re in, or simply enjoying it for all it’s worth. Although some among us feel like they’re stuck here at OU, nobody has to be.

The choices that we made led us here, and whether or not we’re proud to be Golden Grizzlies, the choices that we make while we are at OU will determine how the remaining years on campus will unfold.

Whether those years are filled with whiny complaining or with lasting memories will be mostly up to us.