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Maybe if we order as a group, we could have some made for a decent price?</p>
<p>By the way, Sybbie, we even had to PAY for the decal, lol!</p>
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<p>I guess the joke is on me because most people ask where my kid goes to college, once I tell them they ask, "isn’t that in Massachusetts and then give the “you poor thing” look because the city university has better name recognition.</p>
<p>“Again, only since you asked.”</p>
<p>So, I’m still a little unclear on one thing. Is it okay that H and I have our state university sticker on our cars? What about if we have it on the car our son drives when he’s home? Or is it only expensive colleges we have to be embarrassed about?</p>
<p>I thought bragging was one of the perks of being a parent- if they made NICU graduate stickers- I probably would have one of those too- and my daughter got an A in PE for Effort! and maybe warning I have ADD make sudden swerves!</p>
<p>My sister has an “Eastside Native” license plate holder- I want one that says “I was raised on the Eastside but I couldn’t stand to raise my kids there so I moved to the city and OMG my daughter attends high school in the Central District!”</p>
<p>Don’t schools mail out stickers with acceptances?
( along with the confetti of course)</p>
<p>I am not usually big on advertising- we don’t really buy clothes that have abercrombie plastered across the chest- or Target, but there are so many other things to get all worked up about , that this vitriol really seems misplaced.
to bring it back to the poll intent
H does have stickers on his truck- but no school stickers
he has a Mariners sticker- an old school ( 30 yrs old) REI sticker, a Kerry/Edwards sticker and one from his union.</p>
<p>So, is it only nauseating if the car decal is from a “prestigious” college but you would not find it nauseating if it was from the local state U?</p>
<p>Let me add that I don’t feel AT ALL that my child’s worth is wrapped up with where she went to college. I did not care which college she picked, but only that she picked one she’d be happy at and both are. They found schools that were what they were looking for and those schools let them come and that is ALL that matters. I’d find my kids worthy and a success NO MATTER which college they attended. I also believe in them and think they’ll make it no matter which school they went to. They are the keepers of their success, not the school they attended. Their school won’t make them a success, THEY’ll make themselves a success, that’s how I view my children.However, they do love their schools and are proud to be aligned as a community with whichever school they chose to spend four years at. The sweatshirt and decal are a sense of belonging to their school community, and that is all. This stuff about bragging and self worth…never entered our minds when getting a decal on the day they went to the open house for admitted students and decided, “I’m going here”.</p>
<p>I like it, EK! I grew up in FL, and the natives had the plates that said so, but the ones I always favored were the ones that had “ALIEN” printed over the state outline.</p>
<p>Seriously, the only reason this whole thing is getting so much “press” is that people here ARE hurling insults. And it’s really all of us reacting to just one person. It’s absolutely silly. WHO CARES? And why should any of us feel the need to justify what we do to anyone, much less a faceless keyboardist who elects to condescend to everyone who doesn’t bow down to his or her condescension? I don’t get it.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that the concept that Parent2009 brought up that a car decal is saying, “look where I can afford to send my child to college!” made me chuckle because I want to say, “if only that were true!” Hey, I can’t afford it but they’re going…and they are on financial aid. Should there be a bumper sticker that explains that??</p>
<p>You mean the FAFSA official EFC sticker? That one? It’s free.</p>
<p>Soozie,</p>
<p>We can create our own sticker</p>
<ul>
<li>Dying Broke - because I have yet to see a brinks truck following a hearse :)</li>
</ul>
<p>How about</p>
<p>“Honk if you want to support my kid’s college quest! Donations accepted!”</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>“if you read this decal, thank my loan officer”</p>
<p>Just think…in old age most folks ride around in their kid’s car…hehehe
So that sticker talk is just about to happen to you in another way.</p>
<p>I think the reason many of us have taken offense to some of Parent2009’s posts is that they are so far off the mark. I know that we never forget that there was a huge element of luck, karma or just good fortune that our kids got into the schools of their choice, whether or not they are familiar to many. And it’s so bizarre to say that we are boasting about the cost, that it’s laughable. If we weren’t going into so much debt to pay for that decal, we could actually afford a car which says, “Look at me, I’m rich.” That’s much more of a status symbol than a small sticker on the back of a not-so-special car.</p>
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</p>
<p>The martyred ‘dissenter’ is avoiding this question like the plague. :P</p>
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<p>That, is where we differ. Pride is an integral part of human nature and a necessity of life. If we can be embarassed and self-conscious, we can be proud. We need to be. Self-awareness is a beautiful thing and the Gestalt crystal ball model of human behavior is actually quite insightful.</p>
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</p>
<p>Here, “useful” needs to be defined. Besides, that nauseates me. I freakin loathe whales, you pretentious whale-lover, you. Thank god you’re not a Reed student. A Reed student would know better than to give a crap about whales.</p>
<p>Susan’s response is perfect! All three of our children are athletes - we’ve had license plate frames, flags, and window decals for just about every select, school or college team we’ve been affiliated with since they were very young. In Washington State there is a huge rivalry between the University of Washington and Washington State U. (similar to the FSU/UF thing) so basically you are either a Husky or a Cougar, even if you didn’t attend either! It’s so common to see these decals, lincense plate frames, etc. An out of state decal is rare to see, but fun for conversation. The little beater that we kept for our daughters to drive when they come home for breaks proudly dons decals from Yale and the University of Washington! Our son is still in high school and has his own truck, but he drives their car occasionally and had to put his foot down when they wanted to put a Kappa Alpha Theta license plate frame on it as well!</p>
<p>Parent2009…I’m just trying to understand where you are coming from and ask you to try to get my drift as well. You haven’t really answered the questions I asked but that is your perogative. </p>
<p>I just think you make so many assumptions about other’s motivations and aren’t truly reading when we explain what they truly ARE. Now, you mention parents putting pressure on their children (I think you are referring to going to prestigious colleges). Well, I have read some instances of such parents on here…actually some recent threads by some students explain their parents wanting them to go Ivy or some such. Well, that experience is VERY VERY VERY foreign to me and actually makes me feel sorry for those children. In my family, there was no pressure on our kids to go to any specific schools. Our kids came up with their lists (we did not tell 'em where to apply or limit them), we supported their lists, agreed to take them to visit those schools and our hope was that they’d be happy with whichever choices they were given and ultimately happy once they attended their pick. I truly did not care which school they picked. We have always wanted our kids to do their best but actually our particular children are internally motivated. They were not pressured. They took the lead and we supported their endeavors. We didn’t have a “zeal” to get our kids into the “best” colleges. We only wanted them to reach their own goals and be happy with achieving them. </p>
<p>Now, I have explained that, in my own personal situation. Why must you lump all parents who either display decals or even happen to have children who go to selective colleges, as having the motivations that you assign us or even that we have put pressure on our children? I realize there are some who do but please don’t paint a broad stroke over every person whose child goes to certain colleges or who chooses to show school spirit as having the attitudes and motivations that you are assuming. That’s all. My childrens’ identities, nor my own, are tied up with which school they attend. They love their schools. So, I am happy. That is all.</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>C’mon. There are braggarts who use their kids’ college decals as status symbols. There are sanctimonious twits who decry all such displays as status symbols. And there are ■■■■■■. This is beginning to look like a PR thread. Good job, P2009. ■■■■■■ rarely get this far on CC.</p>
<p>Thank god you’re not a Reed student. A Reed student would know better than to give a crap about whales.</p>
<p>:::::::snort:::::::
Reed students are apparently more into velociraptors</p>
<p>
parent2009: just when the subject gets away from your [ul][<em>]unwillingness to listen to anyone’s actual motives for sticking on the dreaded decals[</em>]insistence upon imputing motives to others which aren’t there[/ul]you come back to announce that you are not “trying” to pick a fight. Without even “trying” you continue to insult. Methinks there is only one person on this thread who judges the worth of a human being by where they go to college… that person is you. Do you fear that if you place a bumper sticker on your car, people will judge your child to have less “worth?” How terribly sad. I hope your child does not sense that.</p>
<p>I have found this whole thread to be not only interesting, but also very funny! As always, Berurah has added a great deal of humor–particularly in noting that without the bumper stickers their car would fall apart.</p>
<p>People get bent out of shape about a variety of things (favorite pet peeves, as some might call them), and it will always be that way. I am sorry that parent2009 is nauseated by school decals, and know that none of us will ever be able to convince that family to ever display such a thing on their car. Good for them. But then they cannot make the judgement call about what each of us does on our cars. It will not hurt my feelings to have someone think I am bragging about my kids by having the decals for D’s and S1’s colleges on our cars, along with the decal for S2’s high school. Not only are they very excited about their schools, academically and athletically, but they do not have their own cars on which to display the decals–they have to use the family cars. (Parent2009 stipulated that it was acceptable for the student to put it on their own car!) We are spending our money on tuition, and don’t have extra to put toward buying each of them a car. So, in the interest of the kids using the family cars to get to work, activities, etc. are we supposed to deny them the right to have a decal on a shared family vehicle??</p>
<p>We love our kids’ schools. We love the sports teams at their schools. We love that they are enthusiastic about the academics and the sports at their schools–and we are happy to let them display that pride and spirit. We live in and area where many students go to ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) colleges, and there are stickers for these schools on large numbers of cars around the whole metro area–probably showing more support for the sports teams than anything else–so it is very much accepted to have a college decal. Our D and S1 go to different ACC schools, so it is fun to hear the occasional comment about “so who do you cheer for when they play one another?”, and other remarks along those lines. </p>
<p>Parent2009–you can have your opinion (and do, obviously)–but your tone leaves me feeling as though you would never be willing to accept that other people have opinions that are equally valid.</p>
<p>And, just as a side note–we have never actually had a bumper sticker–only have the decals. None of the schools our kids have gone to have the “honor roll student” stickers, so we never had the choice. However, I am offended by the bumper stickers I have seen in response: “my kid beat up your honor roll student”. Not funny to me!</p>
<p>sjmom and pebbles make two excellent points that I have to concede are worth their responses and my support. sjmom says that it’s not about what we can afford. God knows. WE aren’t paying nearly as much for our son’s education as he is himself through his well-earned scholarships and work-study. If he gets the RA job next year, we’ll pay even less. And I’m VERY proud of his work, which is what got him to that point and which leads me to pebbles’ point: pride.</p>
<p>There’s pride and then there’s pride. I AM proud of Tulane. Proud that it still exists after last fall and extremely proud of the hundreds of students who now go out every Sunday for up to eight hours to gut houses in the Ninth Ward–my son is one of them–or do other volunteer work to help get New Orleans back on its feet. That is a matter of great pride for us, and if parent2009 doesn’t like it when I talk about it here or anywhere, s/he can do something unspeakable with his/her discomfort!</p>