Vietnam, Korea and the U.S. Civil War stand as reminders of how embracing geographic identity has built community while polarizing parties into conflict.
While AU does not have a Berlin Wall or a Mason-Dixie line to call its own, there is nonetheless a chasm on campus that can simultaneously stir up passions and build community, and that is the Northside-Southside divide.
Northside comprises Hughes, Leonard and McDowell residence halls while Southside contains Anderson, Centennial and Letts halls.
The so-called divide between Northside and Southside is, as senior Jared Pincin said, "a bit of healthy competition on campus."
Freshman Kim Hudson echoes this view.
"The divide is a friendly rivalry, like two different sports teams you cheer for," Hudson said.
The divide is predicated on stereotypes about the intrinsic character of each side of campus.
For many freshmen, they are first exposed to it on, as one freshman from Northside recounts, "The University tour I took a year before I came to AU."
As they arrive, the divide evolves from, "folklore to reality," Pincin said. "People eventually believe that Northside and Southside are different and so they act differently."
Stereotypes about a separation of attitudes between people from Northside and Southside have also arisen.
According to Sid Hayes, people always talk about how "Northside is quieter and more studious and Southside being the place to party."
The natural geographic divide causes people to, "naturally spend more time where you live, and you become friends with the people who live near you" according to sophomore Ed Davis.
Consequently, it may cause people to "act differently, as people just group together with people like them," said freshman Alex Sepulveda.
Sophomore Lisa Pelletier says this is good. "Not everyone at AU is the same, so I think that multiple dorms allow people to find their niche," Pelletier said.
But many would disagree with these stereotypes and the assumption that people act different because they live in different dorms.
Davis admits that while "Southside is naturally more social because it's bigger, there are also loud boisterous people who live in Northside and there are quiet people who live on Southside."
Others feel that this divide is nonexistent.
"You can be the exact same person living on either side of campus," freshman Chris Armstrong said.
Freshman Kerry Chu agrees.
"We're all the same," Chu said. "People talk about the differences and make it a big deal, but having lived on both sides, I don't see the difference except the fact that people are always comparing which side is better."
So then, why mention the divide to the point that it is pointed out to prospective students?
"[It's] one of those quirks that is indigenous to AU and a running joke that is brought up from time to time," Hudson said. "If nothing else, the divide is a way to foster and facilitate a sense of different communities within the same greater AU community to help school spirit."
Davis agrees, saying that it helps provide a sense of community; people are not ridiculously "rah-rah about their dorm pride, but a natural community is created when you can connect with someone over living in the same hall as them," he said.
Every semester, the divide will once again enter the consciousness when, as Parin remembers well, "we are choosing where to live for next semester. If you want to focus specifically on academics, move to the Northside since that is its reputation. If you want to party a little more, move to Southside for that is its reputation"
