Before trends hit the mainstream, fashion gets co-opted, concerts sell out, and thrifty trinkets get resold online, there’s the underground. The ones who liked it before it was cool — at Stetson, this network of students can seem infinitely large and small, but all exist independently of each other while still being networked through shared interests and hobbies. From jam sessions to thrifted fits, Stetson’s underground scene doesn’t wait for permission to express itself and permeate the norm. But in a world where counterculture is always at the teetering edge of becoming the next big thing, cringy or cool, what does it mean to be underground and stay underground?
★ Sub, Alt and Counter: What’s in your culture?
Subculture, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “[a] social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society.” In many instances, it is in the interest of artistic expression and separating from norms in fashion and action. Moving away from the boxed-in categories of jocky, preppy and normie, “alt” Hatters will surely be loud and proud of their differences.
While Stetson’s alternative community may not be as populous as larger universities, it exists in pockets across campus where local and campus culture allow these communities to thrive and grow. These small patches of students differ from other universities, however. They do not reside in select cliques of people in the same subculture, but they allow their shared interests to bridge gaps between subcultures from modern indie to goth and Y2k alt, creating a beautiful amalgam for students to jump into these welcoming groups to stand out from the cookie-cutter norm of Lily Pulitzer puffy dresses and Vineyard Vines boatwear.
★ Dissonance in Action: The Difference Between the Mainstream and Off-Beat
Bun Shamsidin ’27 posits that this “Southern Belle” aesthetic is not only prominent among the student body but also perpetuated in the university’s marketing itself. “Stetson, in its advertising, both online and in person, kind of try and keep that ‘Southern vibe,’ especially being in DeLand,” Shamsidin said. With Stetson’s roots deeply set in the culture of the surrounding area–a quaint, airy, and historical southern town — Shamsidin understands that Stetson is commodifying and profiting from the use of this aesthetic while not giving much focus to students of alternative interests or modes of expression. “I can feel the Southern influence,” Shamsidin admitted, “at Stetson, especially because a lot of people that come here to tour the campus […] it’ll be older people. So, you know, noticeably, Stetson does try to appease … I guess sometimes older conservative people.”
Many people give different numbers regarding the general alternative population, depending on what circles they run in, although the numbers are pretty low no matter what. Shamsidin gave the largest population estimate of “a good 40%, ” a rather large number, to which they elaborated that it “depends on what you consider alternative.”
Bray Kloznick `26 echoed this statement, explaining, “I feel like ‘alternative’ is like a very umbrella term, but I think that […] it’s a pretty large part of the demographic of Stetson.” Since a large population of campus has at least one aspect of their lives– be it music, fashion or otherwise– that is different from the norm, you could technically qualify it as “alternative.” However, this is not the case for Ali Burgess `25 and Michael Terezakis `27, who harbor opposite beliefs from Shamsidin and Kloznick.
Burgess’s interpretation of the alternative Stetson population was along the lines of, “small or medium-sized.” Terezakis shared a similar sentiment, saying that the alternative population was, “in general, quite small.”
So where do we consolidate this difference of perspective amongst alternative people at Stetson? Burgess provided a very insightful solution to this paradox. “Most of us who identify outwardly as alternative kind of know each other in some way, shape or form,” they began. “It could be that alternative people tend to orient themselves towards specific majors.” From this logic, it’s clear that the underground scene could seem big or small, depending on what circles you run in.
★ No One Knows What it Means– But it’s PROVOCATIVE!
As humans, we are all meaning-making animals, driven by the development of labels and categories all for the express purpose of figuring out what we are and everything that isn’t us. For example, raised in the wake of the post-punk movement of the ’80s and ’90s, Burgess claims the label of goth in all aspects: politically, musically, aesthetics, etc. However, if they had to describe their outward appearance properly, Burgess would choose “post-punk romantic goth.”
For Kloznick, he describes a brighter side of the alternative scene, staking claim to “shoegaze and noise rock.” Especially interested in fashion and music, he finds joy in the self-expression of his tastes and the performance of his own music as a drummer.
Now, for more longstanding and traditional forms of alternative expression, like goth or punk, it is much easier to form a label. However, in the scope of more independent movements– which seem to be the most popular form of alternative expression on campus– many people opt out of choosing a label. In many spaces, it would make the most sense to just adopt the broader, umbrella label of “alternative,” especially since that encompasses all of the moving parts under it like grunge/sleaze revival, y2K nostalgia, pin-up culture and many more.
Terezakis expresses his lack of label as, somewhat of an amalgam. “I don’t think I have a specific subculture subgroup that I run into, you know, it’s mostly just an […] amalgamation of things that I find interesting and cool, right?”
Similarly, in Shamsidin’s case, they are very “into the punk scene,” but “not super outward about it.” From collecting music to making art, Shamsidin loves to express themselves but has never really put a label on it.
★ “It’s Not a Phase!” – Resistance from the Mainstream
Not only are humans meaning-making animals, but we are often fearful of the unknown. Alternative expression and deviance from the norm is confusing to those who are out of the loop, and some may respond negatively to it.
Incredibly enough, although they all had differences in their expressive identity, all interviewees all shared similar sentiments of negative experiences of external backlash.
Shamsidin, often dressed in a graphic tee, big pants, cool makeup and funky jewelry, laments that people have made assumptions about them that paint them poorly. “I do think that sometimes, whether they mean it or not, students on campus can be discriminatory to one another based on appearance and stuff like, ‘Oh my god, they have like, dyed hair and pronouns,’ or whatever,” Shamsidin said. Although the “dyed-hair-and-pronouns” has become a joke in certain circles, it is easy to see how the generalization of political indicators can negatively impact one’s identity and expression.
Burgess, a bit darker in aesthetics, is typically found with “big eyeliner,” lashes, dark lipstick and a pale face, draped in blacks, dark reds and Deep Purple (pun intended). They recounted a run-in with DeLand’s more conservative circles as they were just minding their business downtown. “My freshman year, I was walking downtown and there were a couple of protesters who told me I was going to hell or um, told me that I needed to strengthen my relationship with a higher being,” Burgess said. “I’ve definitely been [in] instances where I’ve been a bit ostracized or seen as weird. Often the presumption of alternative people is that we’re all Satanists or atheists or just anti-religion, etc, which, personally, I don’t practice any sort of religion.”
Kloznick, despite his brighter aesthetic of cozy layers and vintage vibes, expressed a similar lamentation of standing out from the conservative Christian zeitgeist of Central Florida — even despite being Christian himself. “Throughout high school and middle school, and I grew up in very conservative Christian environments, and I always was very expressive and enjoyed, wearing different things and styling my hair a certain way … having jewelry, like earrings and stuff like that. It was very abnormal for the space I was in. So I definitely just had a lot of like assumptions made about me… I’ve had people thinking that I was, like, not straight a lot of time.”
Terezakis, a cool middle ground between vintage aesthetics and indie vibes, expressed a similar sentiment. “I’ve had people think, you know, ‘yeah, this guy’s a little weird,’ [or,] why are ‘you listening to this stuff?’ … [I’ve] had people call me gay, which is interesting, it’s an interesting take, yeah?” Terezakis said, laughing it off. Is it really funny, though? After experiencing repeated backlash, some may decide to just laugh to cope with it, others may not take it in such stride.
★ Weird? That’s The Whole Point.
Should you even care about backlash, though? It may be best to take it all with a grain of salt; why be miserable being someone else when you could be happy being yourself? Terezakis said, “Once you truly internalize it and just realize, ‘dude, it is not that big of a deal,’ [and] just keep doing whatever, you’ll be a lot more happy and free as a person… only focus on the important things, then you’ll be good.” Burgess surmises this point beautifully. “Never, ever possess regrets about how you’ve wanted to express yourself … Change cannot come if you don’t partake in it,” they said.
Self-expression isn’t just about fashion or rebellion — it’s about claiming your space, unapologetically, in a world that too often tries to shrink you. If you’re reading this, don’t let them put you in a box, you’re great just the way you are.