IV. Some Facts AboutUs Higher Education

Ivy League

Ivy League is the name generally applied to 8 US universities (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale) that over the years have had common interests in scholarship as well as in athletics. So originallyIvy League is an athletic conference comprising 8 above-mentioned private institutions of higher education located in the Northeastern United States.

Stanley Woodward, New York Tribune sports writer, coined the phrase Ivy League in the early 1930s. A common folk etymology attributes the name to the Roman numerals for 4 (IV), asserting that there was such a sports league originally with 4 members. The supposed “IV League” was formed over a century ago and consisted of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and a 4th school that varies depending who is telling the story.

The first step towards organizing full league competition came in 1952 with the announcement that, beginning with the fall of 1953, each college would play every other college in the group at least once every 5 years. But of course the phrase Ivy League has been historically perceived as connected not only with University sports, but also with academic excellence and social elitism. The term Ivy League is commonly used to refer to those 8 schools as a group of highly prestigious educational institutions. The Ivy League universities are also called the “the Ancient Eight” or simply the Ivies.

Ivy League Facts Chart

Institution	Location	Athletic Nickname	Motto
Brown University Est. 1764	Providence, Rhode Island	Bears	In Deo Speramum (In God We Hope)
Columbia University Est. 1754	New York City, New York	Lions	In lumine Tuo videbimus lumen (In Thy light shall we see light)
Cornell University Est. 1865	Ithaca, New York	Big Red	I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study
Dartmouth College Est. 1769	Hanover, New Hampshire	Big Green	Vox clamantis in deserto (The voice of the crying in the wilderness)
Harvard University Est.1636	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Crimon	Veritas (Truth)
Princeton University Est. 1746	Princeton, New Jersey	Tigers	Dei sub numine viget (Under God’s power she flourishes)
University of Pennylvania Est. 1740	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Quakers	Leges sine moribus vanae (Laws without morals are useless)
Yale University Est. 1701	New Haven, Connecticut	Bulldog	Lux et veritas (Light and truth)

V. Some Facts about American Way of Life

1. The United States is often referred to as the “Melting Pot”, a metaphor that connotes the blending of many cultures, languages and religions to form a single national identity.

2. Americans need a lot of “elbow room”; they like personal space around them.

3. Americans must be over the age of 21 and must have an ID to buy or drink alcohol.

4. The age for driver’s license varies from state to state. Normally, at 14 teenagers get Learner’s Permit. At 16 teenagers get restricted license (no driving from midnight to 6.00 a.m., no more than one passenger allowed, etc.). Full license (no restrictions) is normally given when the driver is 16 years and 6 months old.

5. Americans are extremely informal and call most people by their first name or nickname. They smile a lot and talk easily to strangers, sharing personal stories.

6. It is normal for an American teacher to sit on the desk and for an American student to call the teacher by his or her first name. It’s also quite normal for students to have a meal during the classes.

7. It is normal for American children to have very messy rooms.

8. A significant event in every American high school student’s life is Prom. Prom (short for promenade) is a semi-formal (black tie) dance or gathering, typically held near the end of the senior year (i.e., the last year of high school).

9. Most buses in the USA require the exact amount of money to pay the fare. Passengers don’ get change.

10. Most American women do not feel comfortable having the man pay for everything all of the time.

11. Americans love “showers”. A bridal shower is a gift-giving party held for a bride-to-be in anticipation of her wedding. A baby shower is a way to celebrate the pending or recent birth of a child by presenting gifts to the parents at a party. The term shower is often assumed to mean that the expectant mother or the bride-to-be is “showered” with gifts.

12. Every corner or every street in America has fast food. McDonalds, Burger king, Dunkin Donuts etc. are the favorite places to go. Hamburgers, hotdogs, fries and coke is the basic meal.

13. Americans use pounds and ounces as weight units, inches and feet as length units, gallons for liquids, and Fahrenheit system for temperature.

14. Americans are addicted to sports. Baseball, football, ice hockey, and basketball are the most famous sports here. Sundays from early September to Super bowl in February are considered holy Sundays for football fans.

15. Normally Americans celebrate their holidays on the following Monday (except for some holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas) so that to make a week-end longer.

1. Who was the first to reach the shores of America?

a) Columbus,

b) Vespucci,

c) Vikings and Chinese sailors.