Smackists, Budonians, Ngonians, Gayaza girls, Namagunga girls,
Mwirians, Nabisunsa girls......How do you tell?
WORD in my school days was that SMACK, (St.Mary's College Kisubi),
bred perfect gentlemen brilliant, smart and cute  every lady's dream.
How we loved to be associated with SMACK.

Then came the Ngonians  the Namilyango College students. Their "beef"
with SMACK was that not to have attended SMACK is to have missed an
important step in one's life.  Back in the day, Smackists wore black
jackets and black bow ties on white shirts to social functions. Some
people, probably Ngonians, befittingly baptised them "weevils".

We thought this hullabaloo about schools is hot air. How wrong we
were.  There is such a thing as a school's culture and it is
manifested in a school's products.  Gentility is an integral part of
SMACK. If you saw a "gentleman" braving the rain as everybody else is
scampering for shelter, chances are that he is from SMACK.  SMACK is
to "gents" as Gayaza  High School is to ladies.
A Gayaza girl never engages in cheap talk. She is the essence of
perfection  clean, polite and spiritual  the kind that will frown on
every little mistake and punctuate every conversation with a Jesus
Christ exclamation. If you found them talking about another girl,
Gayaza girls wouldn't be gossiping, they would be discussing issues.
A Gayaza girl never ogles at boys, let alone make a first move, that
is not lady-like. Slits are for sluts, so are see-throughs and peeping
G-strings. These girls choose their friends carefully.  Gayaza has a
long affinity to King's College Budo.

This school grooms snobs  pompous and sometimes selective.  Budonians
walk and act as if they own the world. Granted, they form part of the
country's best brains, but are they the only ones? At work, at home,
in the bar, they are the bosses, literally living the
'Budonians-lead-and-the-re st-follow ethos. They love to be different,
 indifferent and expect to attract attention. The BUDONIAN sticker
emblazoned on many of their cars is a screaming reminder to whoever
cares  how else would they know that you went to "the school"?
However, despite that feel-good attitude, Budonians are still the most
conservative lot stuck in tradition. If the Budonians relish
tradition,

Namasagali College products are the opposite. No matter their status
and age, typical Sagali products live large. They drive flashy cars,
dine and hang out in cozy places. They love to hug and kiss. Can't
blame them because their education entailed much more than classroom
work. That is probably why many of them have made a living out of show
biz, sports and music. That is probably why the school has produced
more dance queens than community psychologists.

How do you get into the psychology of a Busoga College Mwiri product?
Take him to a cricket field and then shower him with booze. Mwirians
are  stuck in their school days. They love to hang out together and
remind themselves of the good old days  when they messed up Wanyange
girls and fell over each other at the school mess for food. They love
to tease their contemporaries. There is an active child in every
Mwirian. When with one such friend, expect anything.

Just like you should expect anything from a Ngonian. These boys booze,
smoke and shout all the way to the bar. They love violent games like
rugby. They are stubborn, passionate and have no time for playing
nice. They fumble their way through life, thus the name 'fumblers'. At
a party or in the bar, look out for Ngonians  they are attention
seekers. Ngonians are popular with women, because of their
laissez-faire disposition.

Ask the Nabisunsa girls, their partners in crime. Stubborn and loud,
these girls are the Ngonians' perfect match.  They will dance the
night away, catch a few pints of beer, have fun with the boys and
laugh about it afterwards. Enjoy life while it lasts seems to be their
slogan.
Piety is a difficult virtue to live, but to many Mt. St. Mary's
Namagunga products, it is second nature. Schooled in a Catholic
atmosphere, raised by strict parents, many of them have a sober
lifestyle; they maintain close links with the church. However, give
them some breathing space and you will see their true colours.

The "Lion of the West", Ntare school is probably the best in the
region. Ntare boys think they are the only bulls in the Western kraal,
giving them a monopoly over the Bweranyangi and Mary Hill girls.
Ntare's claim to fame is having groomed two presidents (Uganda's
Museveni and Rwanda's Kagame) and other leaders, just like many other
schools have anyway.

All these may be stereotypes  perhaps too general to apply to each
student. One thing is for sure: these traits symbolise the different
schools' philosophy and go a long way to  shape individuals' and
society's destiny.