Tell me college is more than

[Lizz612]

studying your ass off and then getting drunk.

What prompts this is I got back to my dorm and a girl was in the front office with a public safety officer, puking in a trash can. And everyone seems to shrug and say "ahh, well... its college."

So that you don't freak out, I'm not feeling any pressure to drink, I hang out with good kids. But this culture of drinking for the sake of drinking by otherwise intelligent people just seems so overwhelmingly STUPID!

The thing is I KNOW that’s its more than that, I was coming back from a lecture by Neitze Fellow Professor Josiah Ober of Princeton University “Patriot or Traitor? Socrates of Athens and the Ancient Struggle Between Political Criticism and Citizenship” and a few of us stayed behind and talked to him for over an hour about Socrates and people who challenge our basic assumptions about life. It was really neat.

But still, that girl puking in a trash can cause she was so smashed...
Really I just need someone to tell me that I'm not crazy for thinking that that girl was acting really stupid.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. no, you are not crazy

that is what college is to people who will never have to actually use their degrees, dolts like * and such.

for those of us who have to work with our brains and hands, we, at least I, find that there is much to be remembered from lessons in college, and it was not learning how to puke in trash cans.

[Lizz612]

6. Thanks

I have to feel like I'm going to end up in a better place than her.
Sometimes I need a better reason to stay on the straight and narrow than just the sake of the straight and narrow. Am I petty for needing to know I'll be better off than her?
:shrug:

[Wapsie B]

9. No not really.

Then again I wouldn't concern myself about whether you have more success than her. She may see the light and buckle down or she may not. She may sleep her way to the executive boardroom. Who knows at this point? The focus needs to be on you and what you know and can offer the world after your done.

[Wapsie B]

2. You're not crazy.

You're using college for it's intended purpose which is to make you think and grow as a person.

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. Yes, there's more to it than that...

But, for a LOT of people, college is about binge drinking and indiscriminate sexuality. After all, it's the first time in their lives when they're away from their parents for an extended length of time, around thousands of other people the same age, with countless parties going on every weekend, and the combination of freedom and opportunity is very enticing for most.

[seventhson]

4. You're NOT Crazy

But one of the aspects of College is learning how to be an adult in the world.

Getting drunk and barfing is one of those lessons.

I would not worry about it too much.

Just don't let it be YOU

Educate YOURSELF and let those who wish to get drunk as their education do so.

They PAID for that privilege

Is it stoopid???

Yup


But stupider would be for you to worry about it too much.

Do YOUR life and tell folks who get drunk and stupid that they are just wasting their time/

But they have their own lessons to learn whether it is in an inebriated technicolor yawn or in a detox ward.

Just be smart yourself and set a good example---

but do not be judgmental since you may feel like getting dunk and making a fool of yourself one of these days and it is your prerogitive to do so as long as you kill no one (including yourself)

This IS America after ALL

[Maple]

5. The idea that college is all about parties

and the drugs/sex/alcohol that go with it is part and parcel of the 'never grow up' syndrome.

Everybody wanting to be Peter Pan. Forever a child.

So they act in college, the same way they do when the teacher is out of the room in the lower levels. Like kids.

Like you'd expect kids to act when mommy isn't looking.

They don't see it as the end of childhood, and the beginning of adult life...which contrary to popular belief these days does not involve drunken parties....it means those old-fashioned things like taking responsibility, developing the ability to think for oneself, and being concerned with the future.

Your character is what you are when no one is looking.

And in the end...character always shows thru. Bush's does.

[Mikimouse]

7. It is indeed more than that

It is an oppportunity to advance your knowledge and to hone your critical thinking skills. Pay no attention to those 'students' for whom college is no more than an all expenses paid vacation from Mommy and Daddy, and heed your own counsel. It sounds to me as you have started down a good path, but remember that college will reward you to the same extent as the effort you apply to your studies. You souldhave some fun along the way as well, but you sound mature enough to avoid some of the 'typical' college activities. Kudos to you. :toast:

[ForrestGump]

8. What they've said - you're not crazy, but they are

if that's a pattern, and it often is.

Knuckle down, work, take advantage of the myriad opportunities that the environment offers, and forget about those party boys and girls. Those types are just wasting space and squandering resources that could be more meaningfully applied to someone more deserving who, for whatever reason, didn't make the cut.

You're already way ahead of them, and I don't mean that in a competitive sense. Good luck!

[Lizz612]

11. Thanks ALL!

I needed a bit of a confidence booster.
:hi:

[prolesunited]

10. She's puking in a garbage can

and you're discussing Socrates with a distinguished professor. Do you really need to ask who's crazy?

You are definitely on the right path. Make sure you stay there. However, don't forget to make room in your life for fun and frivolity and general silliness. It doesn't have to get puking drunk, though.

[Lizz612]

16. Well, actualy I do, and thats the problem!

And the other problem is that I don't think I'm the only one who thinks this way, but no one wants to talk about it because that would be akin to telling the serious drinkers that they're stupid. And no one really wants to go there. Its not like this campus has more drinkers than others, so its not a problem with the college itself, but I feel its more a problem with the college culture.

[kalashnikov]

27. You can do both

I wouldnt want to be a teetotaler in college nor a constant drunk. Everything in moderation.

[SOteric]

12. For the first time in their lives

many college-aged men and women do not have parental rule and external control over their day-to-day existence. Many use this occassion to seek the upper limits of experience. Partying, sexuality, and lax approach to responsibilities are all game for the test.

It's not an awful thing, it's actually pretty common. Most all will outgrow it or burn out on the 'unbearable lightness of being.'

Don't dwell on other people's experiences or their behaviours. Be what you are and get what you want and need from your education.

:hi:

[ForrestGump]

14. "Partying, sexuality, and lax approach to responsibilities"

Sounds like DU... :-)

[SOteric]

15. Well, maybe in the Lounge

;-)

Who's turn is it to walk the Yak?

[ForrestGump]

19. I don't know

That yakety yak, he don't talk back.

[rucky]

13. Socrates, eh? He's greek - which reminds me...

to-GA! to-GA!

[Lizz612]

17. I knew I should have waited till the midnight crowd left!!

Should have waited till the cooler heads returned in the morning.
:eyes: :)

[WindRavenX]

18. college is what you make of it

Do I like drinking? Hell yeah!!!
But my parents have sacrificed a LOT for me to go to college, so if there's any doubt in my mind of whether or not my academics are going to be affected by my activities...well, the activity in question is not carried out.
Sure, drinking and partying is great. But if it consumes you, I think you're missing a lot.
Not to mention wasting college tuition, in which both myself and my parents are going into debt for...w00

[Lizz612]

20. Update:

The ambulence that was supposed to come for the girl(apparently its closer to alcohol poisoning) just passed the dorm and the RA on duty is loosing it. Unfortunatly she's my RA, the poor dear. Poor both of them.
:(

[Cloud]

21. Not me

I go to college and I think that kind of behavior is silly. Why would you want to drink so much to puke? I have had a few drinks but not enough to get drunk.

I have to stay healthy. I have a national weightlifting competition coming up in a month.

So for me college is studying and intense workouts.

[Lizz612]

23. Sounds very reasonable. nt (its getting early)

[Cloud]

24. Yeah

I also socialize a lot too. I was a cheerleader last year for my university. I decided to take a year off to concentrate on weight lifting though.

I have joined the Howard Dean meetup which has 60 members here in Las Cruces so it should be fun.

[listenup]

22. College means

years of taking classes and doing well. Not becoming mr or miss popular. When you get a job at the end of it all, all they care about is who you are - how you present yourself. Do well in grades, and learn to get along with those you don't agree with, and you'll go far.

[DBoon]

25. Getting drunk once in a while

is what college is about. You don't have work or family responsibilities, and if you live on campus you don't have to deal with DUIs.

Making a habit of it is very self-destructive. College is a place to learn that self-destructive behavior has consequences, while you are still young enough to change.

There's studying, there's partying, then there is the 3rd way - the extra-curricular activities that allow you to develop your skills and interests.

You can do things in college that you can't easily do on the outside. I always wish I had become a DJ on our campus radio station - I knew people that did that. I did end up on the board of a housing co-op, helping start a food co-op, and being part of an alternative paper. These are activities that would have been very hard to pull off at that age outside of a college environment.

Do what interests you. Don't worry about the long range consequences YET. Try to learn from your mistakes. You can do things in college both good and bad that you couldn't do otherwise.

[mykpart]

26. What's wrong with

getting drunk and puking?

[HEyHEY]

28. Yeah there's getting laid too! OW ...OOWWWWW!

Hey, nights like that are a right of passage, it should all be part of it all. No matter how much I studied or read, or listened. I had the most enlightenment yakking with friends late into the nigth with beers.

[HEyHEY]

29. also

All this crazy behaviour and letting loose is how you discover more about yourself and get street savy

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. It sounds as if you're the type of student

that professors love to have in class!

The students puking into trash cans are most likely affluent brats wth mediocre academic skills who never heard of Socrates and don't care to. They are in college only because that's what affluent 18-year-olds are supposed to do. They hate all their classes, and they don't have the inner resources to be able to think up constructive or at least harmless things to do during their off hours. To that type of student, "This is a boring campus" means "The frats have parties ONLY three nights a week." Never mind the lectures, concerts, movies, theater productions, club activities, the gym, and a whole library full of books.

Anyway, if the party-till-you-puke crowd is getting on your nerves, see if your campus offers alternative housing. Some colleges have "quiet" housing, some have "no freshmen" housing, some have special interest housing, like students interested in the arts or the environment.

If you have no other housing options, rest assured that freshman year is the worst. By next year, the worst offenders will have flunked out or come to their senses, and your dorm neighbors will be much more tolerable.

[DBoon]

31. Does your college have a housing co-op?

See:

http://www.umich.edu/~nasco/

If not contact them. You could be the one to start something.


The very best form of alternative housing.

[HEyHEY]

35. Plus if you really want to

By then you'll have made friends who share your feelings an may want to get an apartment near campus.

[FlaGranny]

32. When my youngest son went

to college he lived in a communal house the first year. He said you never knew what was going to happen or who you'd see. Strange people passed out on the sofa, etc. He couldn't wait to get out of there and found a couple of other serious students to go in with him on an apartment.

[JVS]

33. It depends on your major

There is an excellent chance that that girl won't be there next year.

[LeftistGorilla]

34. I'm in college...

and I rarely have time to drink...

:shrug:

stupid studying and stupid part-time job...

[DerekG]

36. To each his (or her) own...

For three and a half years at the university, my virginity has remained intact and I have been to one or two parties. It's just not my thing, I would rather lay under a tree (especially in winter) and read a good book or see a great movie.

But I can see why others would flock to partying and the such...just concentrate on your own experiences. I believe only 1 out of 100 people in the world get to attend college--we're very fortunate.

[BritishHuman]

37. For my first couple of weeks in university

I was puking into my bin practically every night when I staggered in.

Then my room-mate moved out and I had a double room to myself for the rest of the year. I eased off after that.

:-)

[SOteric]

38. So...

university taught you how to moderate your drinking?

[mlawson]

39. College is different things to different people.

But for many, it's being away from home for the first time, and you will see far more offensive things than the girl puking, before it's over with. So, as long as her behavior didn't directly affect you, I would say, ignore it.

Most of us grow up eventually, and she will, too. :-)