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Living in Southwest Fort Myers most people realize that a lot of the population is college students. This fact is due to the local and fast growing state university, Florida Gulf Coast. Other than the growing population of college students, the budding of restaurant plazas are seen at every street corner. These two go hand-in-hand because I feel as if most restaurants around the Southwest Fort Myers area get a lot of their business from the college.

When most people think of college students, they picture a wild immature individual always drunk or doing drugs with no job or financial knowledge, or at least some stereotype close to that description. And I must admit, these stereotypes were brought on upon college students by other college students who really do just drink and party every single day. But what most people turn their heads to is the fact that just because some people in college are wild, it doesn’t mean every person is doing that same exact thing.

As a local college student, I have gone out to eat at my fair share of restaurants, and I must admit that because of my age, and the fact that I go to FGCU, I am not treated like the average middle to upper class American. Rather, I am treated like a kid who doesn’t deserve the best service or equal opportunities, who has no money or stable life. I can count on both of my hands how many times I have gone out to a nice, pricey restaurant with my boyfriend, knowing that we are going to be spending a lot of money, and have received terrible, yes I said terrible, service. I’m not here to point fingers at certain restaurants or to bad mouth any specific server, but to simply point out the fact that not every person that attends college is a drunken party animal with no job or financial stability.

Servers in restaurants automatically think that if you are young, and in college, you will tip them horribly, and therefore they feel they are allowed to treat you with limited respect. What servers tend to forget is that many college students work in restaurants and know the business like the back of their hand, and could be the best tippers all night. I have caught myself on plenty occasions being annoyed that I have to wait on college “kids”, but still treat them with the same respect I give my table of fifty year olds, and because of this have received some really great tips.

Another situation that goes along with the topic of the stereotypes of college students is the search for a place to live. The summer months are the prime time when college students are out of the prowl for a new apartment to reside in, but how is this possible when most communities either ban college students or are too hesitant to give them the time of day?

Recently I contacted a woman about a house for rent on a nearby street. While I was on the phone with her she automatically assumed that I was moving in with a boyfriend. I reassured her that it was actually going to be me and another girl. The woman’s voice quickly changed into concern and she asked what we “do.” I told her that I am a 22-year-old senior with a full time job as a bartender. She claimed she wanted references for each tenant because she doesn’t like renting to college students due to the fact that she is afraid they won’t be able to keep up with rent. This is a perfect example of the stereotype most people have about college students who just live off of their parents or are lazy drunks with no job. Personally, I maintain a 5-day a week job, and a 2 day a week internship, and can pay all of my bills on time, so to me that is an insult.

If college students are able to actually get into a nice community to rent a house, they aren’t able to live their normal daily lives. I have heard on numerous occasions that neighbors to college students, who are obviously much older, watch over the college students’ house like hawks. Neighbors watch their every move and question when a friend happens to stop by because the neighbors are afraid a “party” may occur.

People should realize that college students aren’t all the same and some of us have a steady head on our shoulders with goals in our future. But being treated like a nobody every time I walk into a fancy restaurant looking for a great time, is not how things should be in a fair world. I do admit a lot of college students give us a bad name, with their crazy, wild lives, but if only that stereotype didn’t stick with every college student, then people could see that there are some who deserve to be treated with fairness and respect.