It seems that one of our most controversial alumni –– Ann Coulter ’84 –– struck a nerve in the Cornell community this past week.

As many have already read on her blog, in The Sun or even in New York Magazine, Coulter took a heavy swing at fellow alumnus and political pundit Keith Olbermann ’79 last Wednesday in an attempt to belittle his “non-Ivy degree.” Coulter, a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, denounced the legitimacy of the Communication Major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in order to demean the level of intelligence of students within the school. Her claims were pretty tongue in cheek, and her petty rhetoric sadly did very little to bolster her own intelligence, especially in referring to CALS as the “Old MacDonald Cornell.”

That being said, however, Coulter’s actions did in fact expose (on a very public level, no less) a taboo issue that has simmered on our campus for far too long: the internecine conflict between colleges at Cornell. Insecurities or subtle frustrations regarding the merits and vigor of each college have long been harbored inside the minds of students at the University. As much as we hate to admit it, Cornellians are extremely sensitive to the college in which they are enrolled and tend to passive-aggressively deride majors in other schools.

I have spent this past week gauging my classmates’ responses to Coulter’s blog to see if my initial reading of the Cornell psyche was consistent with those of my peers. Not much to my surprise, each conversation largely went the same way:

Laura Temel: So did you read Ann Coulter’s blog this week?

Friend in the School of Hotel Administration: Yeah I did. She is crazy.

LT: Yeah, I know. Slightly off her rocker.

F.I.T.S.H.A.: CALS is just as much a part of Cornell as any other school. Being a land grant school with diverse majors doesn’t make it any less Cornell.

LT: Of course. Once again, off her rocker. But you know, she does bring to light the weird competition between schools. How would you — Friend in the School of Hotel Administration — react if I asked if you were in the College of Human Ecology?

F.I.T.S.H.A.: [Silent, smirk, no response…]

These reactions speak for themselves.

I grew up with two Cornell parents and have seen this mentality at work for as long as I can remember. 30-years out of school, alumni continue to primarily identify themselves by the college they attended. But we are in fact one university. And to the outside world a Cornell diploma is a Cornell diploma. Why then are we harboring theses underlying animosities towards one another? Why is there this type of intra-collegiate conflict at Cornell? Our cherished motto “Any Student ... Any Study” allegedly applies to each of our colleges. Why are we so insecure?

I think we can reduce these sentiments as contentions originating from differences in tuition costs, requirements and objectives between colleges. As stated on the University Bursar’s website, tuition costs for a New York State resident can fluctuate between $36,300 in the endowed colleges and $20,160 in the land grant schools. Additionally, the focus on professional training in colleges like the School of Industrial and Labor Relations contrasts with the College of Arts and Sciences’ liberal arts emphasis. It is clear that the fundamental outlook and goals of undergraduate education differs across the University. Many students find themselves chaffing the liberal arts background as limiting and inapplicable, while others disparage the benefits of undergraduate vocational training with an industry specific focus.

Yet at the crux of this sibling rivalry lies an unspoken perception that GPA’s wholly differ between schools. Everyone at Cornell seems to think they work a little bit harder and are a little bit smarter than the next person. Is there any truth to these sentiments? Does the familial bickering truly stem from real differences in intelligence across Cornell’s diverse student body?

These questions are inextricably linked to Cornell’s significant overlap between majors, in material and content, some more obvious than others. Biological sciences, for example, is a major in both Arts and in CALS. The informational science major finds a home in the College of Engineering, Arts, and CALS. Computer science too overlaps as a major in Arts and Engineering.

With this in mind, I wonder how a biology major in Arts would respond when asked which student is working harder, she or the biology major in CALS? Further, ask her which student is smarter?

Now, flip the scenario. Ask the CALS student what she thinks of both those questions.

This type of debate is in large part what transpired between our two pundit-alumni, Ann and Keith. Both Ann’s approach in answering these hypothetical questions and her snide nature led her to glaringly inaccurate conclusions. But she did, however, inadvertently point to a larger Cornell issue: that the differences between colleges are real. They exist. And these discrepancies, for some reason, are taboo to talk about.

The collection of schools is a celebrated aspect of the University’s appeal but also harbors a conflict that has gone to far. When two celebrity alumni debate the very same issue that still lives on our campus today in the national press, we can be sure that this sibling rivalry has be taken one step too far.

When it comes down to it, Cornell is a very complicated school. We attend a University run on different tuition costs and different objectives between schools. And most people come to Ithaca because they are attracted to this type of diversity. But ultimately we need to acknowledge that these differences exist rather than hide behind them. Hopefully, in flatly confronting these deep felt insecurities we can one day truly live up to the Cornell ethos of “Any student ... Any study.”