Number One Huh?

Of course Penn State is a party school! That's all you usually hear about Penn State, well that and the football team of course! Even my mom told me not to come up to Penn State and not turn into a "party animal!" But some of the things that were said on this podcast changed my view of the “extracurricular activities” that go on over the weekend at Penn State.

"75% of students drink every Friday and every Saturday." It's never too early to start drinking!" The fact that 75% of the student body drinks on Fridays and Saturday was shocking. Of course you see a bunch of people roaming around on College Ave on the weekends but it definitely doesn't look like 75% of the school. This number is definitely a large support of the logos appeal. As a student I feel like that's not a good number to be a part of, but then again it could mean missing out on the full "college experience" so there's a major conflict!

The one problem that I found with the ethos of this piece was the whole Princeton Review ranking system. Though Penn State was ranked number one in the country, the rankings were determined by students! Honestly, what college student doesn’t want the right to brag about going to the number one party school in the nation? Even the narrator at the time admits that this isn’t a “scientific survey” so I felt that this wasn’t an accurate way to depict my school or even the majority of the students that attend Penn State.

The pathos throughout these interviews was particularly high when they spoke about how there are college students that drunkenly break into homes and pass out. I couldn't imagine going into any room of my house and find a stranger sleeping, or even have my child say that there is a stranger sleeping in their room! This was used to show that the drinking and partying in Penn State was going too far because it was now putting people in danger.

Some of the definitions at stake that were explained this podcast were "frackets", a "drunk button", and "the dark side."  Frackets are cheap jackets that girls wear over there partying clothes during cold nights so that they stay warm. A drunk button is exactly what it sounds like! You hit the button and presto! You're drunk! Both frackets and the drunk button are some of the more lighthearted aspects of partying, while the dark side is actually a very serious downside. A senior by the name of Dan was forced to quit his fraternity because he was falling so far behind in his school work. There has to be a line of when it's ok to party and when it's time to study because in reality, you are in college to learn.

Sure we were the number one party school, and we "party hard" but that's the misconception of this school! Not everyone comes to Penn State to party and not everyone over does partying. It also seems as though the faculty isn't doing enough to stop or at least curb the drinking at Penn State but that's not the case. The faculty admits that the drinking is a problem, but there is nothing that they can do to completely stop it. They are taking it little by little and trying to educate students and get them to slow down on the drinking. There will always be girls running around in their “frackets”, guys will always be peeing in parking garages, and people will always want a "drunk button" but that is just a part of college that probably won’t ever change.