Pop Culture 101 at Brown?
An article over on SI.com is claiming that Brown University is now the coolest of all institutions of higher education. That’s because it has been the benefactor of a slew of pop culture references lately and has ties to some hot commodities in the biz and elsewhere.
Overall, it was a pretty hot fall semester for Brown. Not only did the school grab the 12-24 demographic, thanks to [Seth and Summer applying to Brown University on] The O.C., but also Brian the dog on The Family Guy returned to campus to finish his degree in a November episode. Alumnus Rafe Judkins (‘05) appeared on Survivor; Joe Paterno (‘50) experienced a renaissance at the age of 79, and the Brown football team captured its first outright Ivy League title in school history.
Not a bad semester at all. Though the color is not the prettiest in the fashion world, Brown — the school — is riding a wave of pop culture popularity. Brown has already sported two Survivor cast members (Greg in Season 1 and Judkins), Yaya DeCosta from America’s Top Model and some girl who appeared on ESPN’s Dream Job.
Sorry. ESPN self-promoter and Crap Filter nemesis Chris Berman went to Brown, so that wipes out any chance of coolness. Them’s the rules.
Not that my school — Syracuse — fares well in this area, despite turning out its share of Hollywood and media types. Outside of the obvious saturation of sportscasters, what comes to mind is Adam Sandler wearing a Syracuse t-shirt in “Big Daddy” and this line from a recent “Simpsons” episode:
Homer - “You think I can’t kill you? There’s a hundred little punks graduating from Syracuse this year that would beg to kiss my ass!”
January 11th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Let’s not forget Brown’s reference on THE SIMPSONS. During a dream, Lisa fears a zero on a test will exclude her from all Ivy League schools except for Brown. Principal Skinner points out that it’s a “heck of a school”, and asks Otto (the drug addled bus driver) if he attended Brown. Otto replies that he almost got tenure there.
January 11th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
I can’t remember the specific context, but Brown has been the butt of other jokes on “The Simpsons.”
Don’t forget that there was pennant for my school, Penn State, hanging at the birthday party that Wiggum and his boys on the Springfield PD shot up on the Italy episode a few weeks ago, and Wiggum’s cousin apparently went there too.