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Andrew Cline has been editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader since October of 2001. His writing has appeared in more than 100 newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Review.Craig Brandon: Keep the drinking age, ditch the party schools
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By CRAIG BRANDON
Monday, Sep. 1, 2008
Instead of focusing on the drinking age, let's do something about party schools.
The Amethyst Initiative's proposal to lower the drinking age to deal with the problems of party schools and binge drinking was an overly simple solution to a complex problem. On the Initiative's Web page, you find photos of students and faculty members enjoying glasses of wine together while engaging in intellectual discussions of Aristotle and Kafka. Apparently they think that by lowering the drinking age, we can turn back the clock to the good old days of real student engagement in education. That is just not going to happen.
Instead of talking about changing the drinking age, we should focus more attention on the sorry state of America's third-tier subprime colleges that have turned themselves into party schools to attract students. Statistics show that about 40 percent of students at these schools are regular binge drinkers.
High school binge drinkers actually seek out these colleges as alternatives to going to work. They're easy to get into, make hardly any demands on students' time, require little work and allow the binge drinkers to practice their self-destructive behaviors in peace.
The cream of America's high school graduates still go to first- and second-tier schools, where you can still get a good education. At the other end of the spectrum are the subprime colleges and party schools made up of students who barely passed high school and have SAT scores in the 400s (meaning they got nearly half the questions on the test wrong.)
The vast majority of students at these colleges are anti-intellectual, hate going to classes, hate lectures and hate classroom discussions. To meet the needs of these dumbed down students, colleges have dumbed-down their classes to the point where students don't have to read books, don't have to write papers and rarely complete their assignments on time. They resent every minute they have to spend learning anything.
So why on earth would adolescents with those kinds of attitudes want to go to college? A generation ago these students at the lower end of the academic scale never dreamed of going to college. They found jobs right after high school. Today the subprime party schools make these students offers they can't refuse: condominium rooms with free movies, cable TV and video games; food courts with dozens of individually prepared meal options; tanning beds, swimming pools, pinball machines, free rock concerts, climbing walls, free computers and nearly nonstop parties with thousands of students their age.
So, Junior, do you want to spend six years at an exclusive resort or do you want to get a job at Wal-Mart? (By the way, it really does take the average student six years to complete a four-year program. Why leave early when the party is just getting started?)
When Junior accepts the party school's offer, he's highly praised by his parents, who can't believe that Junior, who nearly flunked out of high school, actually got into college. The sky-high tuition bills are no problem, the college tells them. Loans are easy to get, and when Junior gets his high-paying job after graduation, he'll have no problem paying back those thousands of dollars, even at high interest rates.
But after college graduation, the full price of this devil's bargain comes due. Half of the graduates of these schools can't find a decent-paying job, even one that barely allows them to support themselves. So they take jobs as clerks, waiters and salesmen and move back in with their parents. These "boomerang" graduates are exactly where they were when they graduated from high school with one important difference.
When the bills start showing up for all those easy-to-obtain student loans, which average $23,000 plus $3,000 in credit card debt, Junior can't pay them. When Junior defaults, as many of these graduates do, the debt level can quickly reach $80,000 to $90,000 and it can't ever be forgiven, not even if Junior declares bankruptcy. If Junior does find a job, he quickly loses it because he has developed no work ethic and is so self-centered that he cannot deal with even minimal demands from bosses or customers.
Meanwhile, parents wait and wait and wait for the high-salary job the colleges promised them. Employers, however, are wise to the ways of party school graduates and have learned that a diploma from a subprime party school means little more than that the graduate knows how to prepare Jell-O shots, cheat on tests and forge the date on his driver's license to say that he's 21.
Craig Brandon of Keene, a former education reporter, spent 12 years teaching journalism at Keene State College. He writes the Party Schools Exposed blog and is writing a book about American party school culture.
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YOUR COMMENTS
Way too many assumptions, stereotypes and extreme circumstances to be taken remotely seriously.
Sorry, Junior. Let me know when you use facts to prepare your panic deadline works.
- William Johnson, Kingston, RI
Professor Brandon. Yes, that's right, i was one of your "binge-drinking," unmotivated students just a year ago. In all seriousness, you sound like you have a bit of a score to settle with KSC and writing this book seems to be your way of doing so. Good for you, make your money, but do realize that the real reason you think the majority of students don't want to learn is because of your immense inability to teach. It's hard to get motivated when the teacher exudes little passion. I believe many professors at KSC and other "subprime party schools" would highly disagree with your incredibly objective accusations. I am offended and would also like to add that I am currently making $70,000 a year my first year out of school. And yes, I went to Keene State College and had the pleasure of making friends with students who sincerely wanted to learn just as much as anyone else. I am sorry you were unable to see what i did. My words are only constructive criticism. I hope you take the time to really try and understand my position. P.S. - I was not drunk when i wrote this.
- Sean Connor, Windsor Locks, CT
I find this article is filled with many assumptions and very little facts. Every institution in America has excessive partying and underage drinking. But the smaller institutions such as the division 3 schools are branded with the reputation of a so called, "party school" or "sub-prime" institution. I find these stipulations very unfair and offensive. I am currently a student attending one of these "party schools" and contrary to Mr Brandon's remarks, I scored much higher than 400's on my SAT's. I didn't choose a "sub-prime" institution for the parties but so I could afford to get a decent education at a nearby college. I feel Mr Brandon's comments are unjust and depict a small percentage of students.
- Cory Gilmore, Keene, NH
While I agree with much of what Mr. Brandon says here, as a Keene State Alumni I can say that it is still possible to get a great education at a school that has been turned into a party school. Professors in my experience are aching to find students that care about their material and do not play along with the attitude that "hey it's a party school". Is it possible to eek under the radar of academia and find a way to just get by without doing much work? sure. Does that mean that the student who doesn't do that is still receiving the same quality of education? Of Course not.
- Kristopher Lozeau, Keene, NH
If you're too irresponsible to drink, perhaps you're too irresponsible to vote. While we're raising the voting age we should raise the drinking age some more just to be sure. And don't give me that crap that if you're old enough to serve in the military then you're old enough to drink. Join the military and you'll find there are a lot of other things you won't be able to do without the permission of your chain of command. Serving is voluntary, unless there's a draft, in which case it's the price for freedom. Freedom doesn't mean drinking.
- Jason Blanchette, Bloomington, IL
It's not the job of our colleges and universities to babysit our adult children. Everyone wants to hoot and holler about drinking, but many of these same kids (18 and older) are doing drugs which are not legal for anyone. If you're going to be old enough to vote and join the military, then you're old enough to drink. And if parents pay attention to which are the party schools, then they won't pay the tuition to send their kids there.
- Elle, Manchester
At the ages of 18 or 21 I don't see a big difference having already lived them. I'd say the real problem lies with learning and let's face it, the parents are up against such entities as Hollywood, who just so happens to have a college party movie out at the moment, and the MTV pop culture attitude of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Neither of which spend much time promoting responsibility or being accountable for ones own actions.
Ask yourself as a parent who has more influence of your children. Considering both parents in most homes today work the chances are the amount of hours you have influencing your children are less than the ones I mentioned. A culture that is drunk or on drugs is a culture more easily controlled and manipulated. Teach your children well or someone else will.
- Deb, Derry
I would like the article better if he named names. Who are "these" colleges? My children are having a hard time getting into colleges that also have these party services like food courts and free rock concerts.
- John Hunt, Rindge, NH
What about the old argument.?Old enought serve in the military but can not buy a drink. Simple Answer.
If your ID says 21, you can buy a drink.
If that ID says 18 and comes with a Military ID, you can order a drink. Perhaps just a limited number.
Discriminatory? You bet. Thanks for your service. Your maturity and dedication and self sacrafice quailify you for that drink.
- John M. Healy, Warner
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