At Stuyvesant, we have been asked many times which borough we live in. The response to our answer is usually along the lines of “Eww Staten Island? Isn’t that where the dump is?” Sometimes, we’ll get “Oh, Staten Island. So you ride the ferry to school every day?” and on special occasions, someone will reply “Aww it must take a long time to get to school every morning.” There was even a Facebook group saying Staten Island should really be a part of New Jersey. But if students took the time to learn more about Staten Island, they will find that it isn’t as bad as it seems.

Often, the stereotypical image of the Staten Islander comes from people and sources that haven’t actually been on the island. People might find it shocking that not all Staten Islanders are like those portrayed on MTV’s True Life: I’m a Staten Island Girl episode or that the island doesn’t match Urbandictionary.com’s definition of “a place where the makeup is thick and the accents are thicker.” Not every girl is tanned orange with manicured nails and perfect blonde hair or parades around in Ugg boots and Hollister t-shirts. Not all the guys are “guidos” (arrogant, overly macho Italian-Americans), a term that is commonly associated with the island. Yes, there are rich kids with fake tans and spiky hair, but not everyone on the island is like that. We act and dress just like kids in the rest of the city.

Another misconception is that Staten Island is tiny and isolated from society. The real Staten Island, contrary to popular belief, is not as small as it appears to be on subway maps. It is actually the third largest borough in the city (after Queens and Brooklyn), making it bigger than Manhattan and the Bronx. Unlike other boroughs with subways, we have a railroad instead that runs through the island and connects to a complex bus system that allows Islanders to travel all over the borough. And of course, there’s the Staten Island Ferry, which takes many students to and from school every day and is free. There are many ways Islanders can get around the city. Just because it takes us a little longer doesn’t mean that we’re isolated.

Then there is the idea that Staten Island is just a big, smelly dumpster because of one treasured landmark: the Fresh Kills Landfill, better known as the Dump. With all the jokes we get about living in a smelly borough, people must have forgotten that the Dump closed in 2001. Although it caused displeasure for a few nearby residents, the Dump did not affect the lives of most people on the island. In fact, it is now the resting place of debris from Ground Zero. Islanders are generally proud of having the formerly largest landfill in the world—so large that its peak was taller than the Statue of Liberty and could be seen from space with the naked eye! But just because the Dump was very large doesn’t mean the entire island is a smelly dump.

Many people don’t realize that there are also many attractive things to do on Staten Island. Every day, New Yorkers travel large distances to shop at Staten Island Mall. Why? It could be because the mall contains the only Aerie and Hollister Co. store in New York City. Another attraction in Staten Island is the War Memorial Ice Skating Rink, a large indoor skating rink located in Clove Lakes Park. Though not as popular as Bryant Park’s rink, the rink has two rinks where people can skate freely. Other popular points include the Staten Island Zoo and Snug Harbor.

Staten Island is the most mocked borough. Many times, this is because the people who talk about Staten Island don’t know much about it and base their comments on stereotypes and misconceptions. If people are willing to learn more about Staten Island, they will see that it’s not as bad as others make it out to be. So next time someone says something like, “Ew, Staten Island,” why not tell them that Staten Island is more than just a dump.