2008 Woodie Awards
Attack on student leaders is unfounded in many cases
Only blaming student leaders is unfair
Sam Koch '11
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Opinion
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It's hard to imagine an article that makes more generalizations than Justin Lohr's article on the role Red Shirts and RAs play in freshman drinking. As a freshman, I believe that many of my peers had already established their drinking patterns prior to arriving at St. Joe's. However, as young men and women entering our first year in college, we are presented with many more opportunities to engage in behaviors that we may or may not be familiar with. The party scene at St. Joe's is an integral part of the campus culture, as it is at almost every university. While it certainly is not the most honorable fact, it should not be surprising that some Red Shirts, or even in some very rare cases RAs, would help freshman find parties.
Alcohol acts as a social aid, so it's not startling that over 1,000 kids who barely know each other and are thrust into living with one another would choose to use it to get to know each other. It's important to note that we are all young adults and are able to make decisions of our own free will. No upperclassman is kidnapping freshmen from Sourin and forcing them to drink. Even if they are telling them about parties after mass, older students aren't forcing them to go. While we may be influenced by those around us in the decision to drink or not, in the end, that decision is still entirely our own.
Talking to a few upperclassmen who are knowledgeable about the party culture, I found a general consensus that differs from the two articles that Lohr wrote. Although there is party scene at St. Joe's, the overall mindset is that it is small in comparison to other local schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania or Temple. It's not uncommon for there to be only one or two large parties a weekend night. This is something you would never find at UPenn, for example, where you can literally "partyhop", going to five or six parties in a night. Nonetheless, partying is an integral part of St. Joe's culture.
One junior economics major, who did not wish to be identified, said, "What would you rather do: sit at home and watch movies by yourself? Going out is really one of the few ways, and certainly the easiest way, to meet new people and socialize around campus on a weekend night."
Alcohol acts as a social aid, so it's not startling that over 1,000 kids who barely know each other and are thrust into living with one another would choose to use it to get to know each other. It's important to note that we are all young adults and are able to make decisions of our own free will. No upperclassman is kidnapping freshmen from Sourin and forcing them to drink. Even if they are telling them about parties after mass, older students aren't forcing them to go. While we may be influenced by those around us in the decision to drink or not, in the end, that decision is still entirely our own.
Talking to a few upperclassmen who are knowledgeable about the party culture, I found a general consensus that differs from the two articles that Lohr wrote. Although there is party scene at St. Joe's, the overall mindset is that it is small in comparison to other local schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania or Temple. It's not uncommon for there to be only one or two large parties a weekend night. This is something you would never find at UPenn, for example, where you can literally "partyhop", going to five or six parties in a night. Nonetheless, partying is an integral part of St. Joe's culture.
One junior economics major, who did not wish to be identified, said, "What would you rather do: sit at home and watch movies by yourself? Going out is really one of the few ways, and certainly the easiest way, to meet new people and socialize around campus on a weekend night."
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