In about 20 minutes I’m going to participate in a “present your school” event here at the Bucerius Law School in Germany. This gives the German students the opportunity to browse the different partner schools and see which one they would like to attend.
Sometimes coming to the Midwest from abroad is a tough sell, but being a big fan of Iowa City and a strong supporter of the Iowa College of Law, I can’t wait to make the case. Sure, you could go to NYC or San Francisco, I’ll say, but would that really be a “college town” experience? I don’t think so.
That’s going to be my angle. I figured I’d just bring my laptop, show everyone a few pictures of Iowa City, and open up a tab on some site like Wikipedia to give everyone the vital statistics of the city.
Which brings me to my point.
Has anyone ever looked at the Wikipedia entry for Iowa City? It’s hilarious.
Two of the first three categories are: “2006 Tornado” and “2008 Flood,” and the pictures at the top of this post are two of the first pictures that you encounter on scrolling down the page. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the entire town was composed exclusively of flotsam and refugee camps.
"Will we die in Iowa?" my classmates will ask, furrowing their brows with concern and confusion.
Sometimes coming to the Midwest from abroad is a tough sell, but being a big fan of Iowa City and a strong supporter of the Iowa College of Law, I can’t wait to make the case. Sure, you could go to NYC or San Francisco, I’ll say, but would that really be a “college town” experience? I don’t think so.
That’s going to be my angle. I figured I’d just bring my laptop, show everyone a few pictures of Iowa City, and open up a tab on some site like Wikipedia to give everyone the vital statistics of the city.
Which brings me to my point.
Has anyone ever looked at the Wikipedia entry for Iowa City? It’s hilarious.
Two of the first three categories are: “2006 Tornado” and “2008 Flood,” and the pictures at the top of this post are two of the first pictures that you encounter on scrolling down the page. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the entire town was composed exclusively of flotsam and refugee camps.
"Will we die in Iowa?" my classmates will ask, furrowing their brows with concern and confusion.
"Don't be silly," I'll say. "Tornado Season and Flood Season are usually broken up by Unbearable Winter Season, so you'll hardly even notice them."
I’m recruiting here. I can’t work with this kind of material. So, at least until someone edits the Wikipedia page (or Mother Nature stops picking on us), it looks like I’ll be sticking to shots of the ped mall and photos of tailgating.
Yes, rain or shine, we'll always have tailgating.
Yes, rain or shine, we'll always have tailgating.
Go Hawks!
2 comments:
Gregory, just blame all the natrual disasters on the Bush Administration and assure your German comrades that there will be a new Sherriff in town by the time they get here (and you can say, "just like blazing saddles" so they have a point of reference).
Don't forget the blazing inferno that consumed the dome of the Old Capitol building a few years back.
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