“Are you going to wear your uniform to school today?” I asked my roommate this teasing question as I saw him making coffee this morning. He laughed as it was from a conversation we’ve had before about all of the computer engineering students wearing the same outfit wherever they go. That outfit was a pair of jeans and the black shirt with the yellow ECpE lettering that you’ve all probably seen around campus at least once. Apparently he’s got at least six of those shirts.

Although somewhat funny, there’s some truth to this profiling as it exists all around us. It’s somewhat amazing to see that on a campus with a student body that’s almost 83 percent Caucasian, we can have stereotypes, profiling and a sometimes bland, yet still existant diversity all around us.

“I can spot a computer engineering student from 300 yards away, and can start to differentiate between mechanical/electrical/chemical engineering students at about 200 yards,” I teased further as my roommate and I continued to talk about profiling by major on campus. The following conclusions, although sometimes obvious, were drawn: Probably the easiest student to pick out is someone from the College of Design, because who else is carrying around a huge portfolio bag on campus?

Being from the city it gets tricky when trying to decipher between the different agriculture students and their respective major, but the boots, belt buckles and cowboy hats seem to drop some pretty big hints as to what their interests might be. It’s always good to see a few ROTC students on campus, sometimes in their clean-cut regulation uniforms too. And how can we forget Tapout bro, whose major still escapes me entirely.

I think the longer you attend Iowa State, the easier the profiling becomes. Personally I’ve been in the College of Business for close to three-and-a-half years and I can usually point out someone from MIS or supply chain from the sea of management/accounting/finance majors. And if you’re still undeclared, or are a freshmen wondering which category you fit into, no worries, juniors and seniors can point you out from a mile away.

It’s interesting how people’s fashion, mannerisms and personality can be so similar based just upon their choice of study. I’m sure you could do a nature vs. nurture study to discover what type of people end up in certain careers or fields of study. I personally think it’s great to see some differentiation on our campus. I feel like peer pressure from your friends and multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns would have us all wearing the same Nike shoes, Abercrombie jeans, Ralph Lauren polos and similar North Face Jackets every day.

So go ahead, wear what you are. Have no shame as you’re bringing more diversity to the table and creating a better community for us all. There is one exception, however, to this diversity rule, that being if you wanted to wear any form of ISU apparel. Because as far as I’m concerned, a “Beat Iowa” shirt and jeans should really be the official ISU uniform, for all majors of all years.