'AITA for insulting a colleague who wouldn’t stop teasing me about the school I went to?'
"AITA for insulting a colleague because she wouldn’t stop teasing me about where I went to school?"
I (22F) am a recent college graduate from a university that is very well known thanks to a certain character in the show “The Office.” I’m used to being teased about it, but anything related to Andy Bernard just gets on my last nerve. After four years of the SAME joke, I just see it as so uncreative and irritating that people perceive all of us like that, but it’s largely been a non-issue.
I just started working at this law firm as a legal assistant and my firm has a couple other recent college graduates. “Ally” just started a few weeks ago and is very proud of the fact that she graduated from Harvard (wears her college sweatshirts to work, has a crimson/white color theme at her desk, recounts college stories at lunch, etc.)
Ever since she saw a little graduation pennant that I have pinned on my desk, she keeps teasing me with “worst Ivy” jokes and keeps calling me “Andy” even though that’s not my name. I’ve asked her several times to cut it out. Today was our monthly firm lunch where everyone introduced themselves because we had a few new people.
After I gave my generic elevator pitch and said where I graduated from, she leaned over and whispered “ever heard of it?” After this, I got up and excused myself from the room because I was getting upset and she was getting on my last nerve. When Ally asked me later why I had left, I said that her “Harvard superiority complex” was showing and I didn’t want to be around her elitist nastiness.
Ever since then, she hasn’t spoken to me and hasn’t made any more jokes. However, my other coworker said that I should have been the bigger person and that she wasn’t trying to be nasty and to just let her be proud of where she graduated from. Now I’m wondering if I went too far. AITA?
People shared their feelings on the work dynamic.
zldapnwhl wrote:
NTA. Denigrating your school doesn't have anything to do with her being "proud" of her own school; she does it because she's a flaming AH who has made her entire personality about her alma mater, which is super weird and douchy. Ask your coworker why Ally can't be proud of her alma mater without insulting yours.
LimitlessMegan wrote:
I’d be replying with, “Weird, you keep insulting my school and bragging about yours, but here we are - at the same office doing the same job. So… is that because your wrong about schools or just because you did badly at your amazing school?”
JeepersCreepers74 wrote:
Okay, I didn't go to an Ivy at all so still admire you, but I had a good friend who went to Cornell and she said the entire student body bonded because they all had one thing in common--they were rejected by Harvard--and I have never forgotten it.
That said, do you know how many terrible people have gone to Harvard? Pick one and start calling her by that name. Next time she's wearing her crimson sweatshirt, act surprised and say "Whoa, I thought you were the Unabomber for a second" and then just call her Ted every time she calls you Andy. NTA.
RemyTheMagnificent wrote:
NTA. A comment once or twice is one thing. Constantly cracking jokes is either harassment. You already asked her to knock it off and she refused to do so.
fIumpf wrote:
NTA. The obsession Americans have with what post-secondary institute people attend after high school is so baffling.
sazeracsilly wrote:
As a Boston native, Harvard kids suck a$$ in general. If you want a tip to get on her nerves, refer to it as UMass Cambridge.
Any_Quality4534 wrote:
Your co-worker is very insecure. Her whole identity came from going to Harvard. She is in the real world now, and she needs to move on. It is one thing to be proud of your school, and then there is making your school your world.
I bet if you asked her what she hated about her school, she would have a lame excuse. In the real world where you went to school and your GPA rarely matters. NTA
Clearly, OP is NTA here - the big task at hand is for her to figure out how to properly troll Ally back.