First and foremost, this is not an attempt to bash FOCO or any CSU students/alumni/[fans]? I actually don’t mind Fort Collins and their school. The fact of the matter is, we need both schools and while the university and the town shape us as individuals, the towns and schools are awesome in their own ways.

So why did you choose CU? Sure, we may know how to “out-party” CSU, scratch that, we DO know how to out-party them. But, that’s not why we’re here. Hopefully most of you chose CU for our academics, but there are many that make the final decision based off culture, whether realizing it or not.

One of the many complaints that foco people have about Boulder is that we’re not as “welcoming”. As I mentioned before, we’re two completely different communities living a stones throw away. That said, Boulder is a cultural melting pot. We may not seem as “welcoming” to a certain person with a certain background because we’re equally welcoming to all kinds of backgrounds. Plus, we’re extremely progressive as a city. It’s more of “run with us or run from us kind of motto”.

Now, our campus was designed around the beautiful mountain setting you just don’t get in FOCO, and we don’t even have to leave our campus to see it. This inspired the “Tuscan vernacular” architecture style that consistently lands us as the #4 most beautiful campus in America. The beautiful school and surrounding setting are largely responsible for bringing in a new crop of students every fall.

So, the beautiful campus and town, extraordinary hiking, cultural diversity, and everything else are great, but that’s not why you chose Boulder over foco. Whether knowing it or not, you chose CU for all these reasons. All of these things help make Boulder and CU unique in their own way, and I’m not going to be the guy to say “better” in their own way. That job is up to you.

Cameron Neptune