In defence of the poly: Time to admit you’re just an insecure snob

Whether it’s a sport events, nights out, or Yik Yak – you’ve probably witnessed some competitive repartee against John Moore’s, Hope or Edge Hill.

In fact, you’ve probably gladly joined in, because it’s hard to avoid slagging off the opposite team when rooting for your own.

Although in principle there isn’t anything wrong with some healthy rivalry against neighbouring uni’s, it becomes a problem when we use our Russell Group status as proof of our superiority.

Chants like “your dad works for my dad”, “go hard or go Hope” target the other universities’ lower academic rankings and we insist that their students are automatically inferior or less intelligent.

Apparently, we are so insecure about being ranked the worst Russell Group by the Complete University Guide that we feel the need to preserve our academic dignity by making fun of ex poly’s.

Make fun of our neighbouring Liverpool universities all you want, but targeting their intelligence because you go to a better academic uni makes you a snobby cunt.

Lower entry standards at these uni’s provide an opportunity for a wider range of people with a different work ethic to go to university. The intense expectation and pressure to get a high class degree at our uni doesn’t suit everybody, and everyone deserves a choice in higher education that they’re comfortable with.

Besides, Uni Of doesn’t provide nearly the same range of courses and fields as JMU, Hope or Edge Hill. Uni Of doesn’t even offer as fundamental a course as Art and Design, which all three others offer, let alone courses as specific as Sport Psychology (also offered by all three) which might be perfect for some individuals.

Some argue a degree from these uni’s isn’t worth as much, and you’ll have lower career prospects. Though in this age of failing internships, where they’re too competitive to attain or are as worthless as work experience, for many people a degree is their best choice.

Then again, when you or many of your friends study practically dead-end humanities at Uni Of, it’s hard to argue JMU has lower job prospects when it has mostly applied and vocational courses. JMU is also ranked in the top 10 uni’s for the number of businesses created and number of active firms.

Besides, focusing on the job prospects of your degree is incredibly narrow minded – the purpose of university is also to make friends, learn about something you love and have a fulfilled student experience before the responsibilities of repetitive nine-to-five job lay hard on you.

And yes, some students might not be as intelligent as you – but why does that make them inferior? It certainly doesn’t mean they work less hard, or that they would be worse at their job. If you really think someone is worth less than you because they are less intelligent, you’re no better than the posh twats at Oxbridge that look down on Liverpool Uni.

We have to remember that our high academic ranking doesn’t make us the ‘it’ university in Liverpool. Liverpool is dominated by JMU’s 24,680 students, making them socially take over our clubs, Yik Yaks and Tinder. How many times have taxi drivers assumed you went to JMU? We need to recognise that it takes more than brains to be the best uni in Liverpool, and over-using our slight advantage in academics only makes us look like twats.

As the saying goes, “I’d rather be a poly than a cunt”.