In fact, there is a Texas Club for Lone Star State natives trapped in Massachusetts. Club meetings usually feature streak, country music and Lone Star beer.

"We're students all the way up in Boston," says Lawrence T. Huynh '97. "Houston and Dallas are really far away. Lots of kids want to go home to work, and long-distance job searching is very difficult. We're trying to have more communication and links with the Harvard Clubs back home."

Students say conversations with people from their regions of the country can take on a ritualistic quality, centering on certain themes. Sports are an important one, students say.

"If you're from the South, someone's bound to mention football," says Alex T. Liesegang '98, who is from Florida. "It's so big there. It's like life or death."

Current events, weather and colloquialisms also provide common ground.

"Before the elections, whenever I talked to anyone from Alabama we'd talk about that," Gilchrist says.

"We get together and talk about how much warmer it is," says Herman A. Sanchez '97, who is from California. "How we could be wearing shorts."

Students also talk about--and in--their common regional lingos. Southern Californians, for instance, say they miss their native "Spanglish."

A quick survey of the term for "soft drink" revealed that the fizzy drink is "Coke" in some parts of the South. It's "soda" in Florida and on the East Coast, and "pop" in much of the Midwest.

"We always discuss how much better 'y' all' is than 'you guys,'" Hale says. "It's not sexist. It flows."

Students can also talk about stereotypes others share about their region.

"We tend to joke about what other people think," Streyffeler says. "My debate partner is from Wisconsin, and we'll just sit there and tell jokes about cows, corn and cheese.

Sanchez jokes about the "valley boy" image others have of California.

"I'm from the Bill and Ted area," he says.

Source of Pride